Mary Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am delighted to welcome the Minister to the House. When Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party put aside their differences to form a Government they did so to try to create a stable Government that would address climate change and the threat of Covid-19 and re-establish our society and economy. This third piece of legislation that has been brought before the House today is a manifestation of the Government's serious commitment to start to address climate change and take climate action.

The Bill aims to deliver on the Government's promise in the programme for Government to strengthen the action of the Government and the State on climate change. I thank the Minister for bringing forward the legislation. Its Title, the National Oil Reserves Agencies (Amendment) and Provision of Central Treasury Services Bill 2020, is a mouthful. With a Title like that, it is no wonder people outside the House wonder what we talk about. It is very important legislation. While it is a technical Bill, in plain English what it will do is put the climate action fund on a statutory footing, which means the State will commit to the climate action fund. It will make available to the climate action fund any surplus from the fossil fuel levies so the climate action fund can use the moneys to take climate mitigation measures. This is very welcome.

The Government has promised that in the years until 2027, close to €500 million will be dedicated to the climate action fund. It is estimated that by passing the Bill, a minimum of €50 million from the national oil reserves agencies will be given to the climate action fund. This is very important because this €50 million, while not enough in and of itself to take on all of the climate mitigation measures that will be required, will give vital support and funding to initiatives that can help us address climate change.

The primary aim of the climate action fund is climate mitigation measures but the fund can also help us address Covid-19. In speaking about it today, I want to address four areas, particularly from a Dublin perspective, that I would like to see the Government use the climate action fund to address. These are congestion, housing, jobs and illegal dumping. Dublin is the 17th most congested city in the world and the sixth most congested city in Europe. This takes an enormous toll on the lives of people who are trying to work and live in the city. It makes it a very unpleasant place to live. It is unhealthy, unsustainable and unacceptable. It is right that the Government addresses it and it can use the climate action plan to start to do this.

Back in 2009, there was a smarter travel policy that aimed to reduce work-related travel and commuting by private car by approximately 20% but the policy did not achieve its aims. It is urgent that the Government use the climate action fund to address congestion. I encourage the Minister to use the funds to enable people to move away from petrol and diesel cars and invest in electric vehicles. Critically for public transportation in the city, the public bus service is very friendly. It has kept going and has been available to us all during Covid-19 but we need more bus services. We need the service to be more reliable and more affordable. Most important from the perspective of this fund, we need it to be more energy efficient and environmentally friendly.

With regard to homes, 10% of our carbon emissions come from the residential sector and here in Dublin we have a very old built environment. Private and public residential homes, including those owned by Dublin City Council, are very old.Many of them are poorly insulated, poorly heated and unable to deal with our damp, wet environment. People living with asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, COPD, and other respiratory problems were struggling in those homes prior to Covid-19, but now the impact of Covid-19 on them is enormous. In my constituency of Dublin Central, flat complexes such as Henrietta House, Greek Street Flats and Chancery House are fine architectural and important structures for our city, but they are quite uninhabitable for many of the tenants. We must use some of the climate action fund to address the inadequacies of those homes. There is a commitment in the programme for Government to retrofit 500,000 homes and this fund will help that, but it is important to accelerate that programme as soon as possible.

With regard to jobs, yesterday we discussed legislation that will enable the State to participate in European funds, which is very important. Employment is at an all-time low and youth unemployment is at a critically high level. We must take every action possible and be radical and ambitious to ensure that youth unemployment and long-term unemployment do not take hold. The climate action fund can support the protection of jobs and the creation of new jobs, as well as the upskilling and retraining of workers and jobseekers. I urge the Minister to use the climate action fund to do that.

Illegal dumping might seem to be a small thing, but it is a critical issue throughout the country. It is an acute problem in this city. Illegal dumping contributes directly to our greenhouse gases and carbon emissions. We talk about it a great deal but we must tackle it. If we tackle it we will reduce our greenhouse gases and carbon footprint. Dublin Central and the north inner city are repeatedly highlighted as an illegal dumping and litter black spot. That is unacceptable. Dublin City Council is trying to be innovative and is taking initiatives. I urge the Minister to use the climate action fund to support local authorities and local groups. Many voluntary groups give their time voluntarily to go out at weekends or after work in the evenings to clean up our streets. We must support those groups as well.

Finally, we are used to seeing forest fires in California and Australia, but it is startling to have Siberian forest fires in the Arctic. It is a wake-up call for all of us. Climate action is something we all must take seriously and we all must make individual efforts, but we cannot expect individuals alone to do it. The State must commit to this and that is what this legislation does. I commend the Minister on bringing the legislation forward. Fianna Fáil will support it and we look forward to working with the Minister in making it a reality.