Rebecca Moynihan (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for coming before the House. Other Senators have pointed out that when he comes to the House he has a passion and understanding for his brief, as do his colleagues. It is no small measure that there has been a marked change in Government communication since the Green Party entered. I sincerely hope we get the type of climate Bill that some of the non-governmental organisations are advocating for. At least with the Minister, as opposed to previous inhabitants of the office, they will be pushing against an open door on it. In this House, in particular people on the Opposition benches, such as Senators Garvey, Boylan and Higgins, have good interest in working together with the Minister to strengthen the Bill.

We have had an increase in extreme weather events in recent years. We have had a number of storms and this is the ninth consecutive year that the temperatures in Ireland have been above normal and winter has been the warmest on earth. It is an undeniable fact that climate change is not something of the future but very much with us.

The one level of criticism I would like to address is that sustainable forms of transport will be key to a just transition. While they are very important, and I am a cyclist and I want better cycling infrastructure in our towns and cities, I do not believe they will be key to addressing a just transition. Key to a just transition is to ensure that workers in carbon heavy industries can transition over. This means training them up and investing in them. It also means companies in profitable green industries will be asked to pay their fair share in training people up and into the just transition. As part of this, the Minister's Department should not operate in a silo. Rather the just transition should go across the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, in particular, so we get people in school and those losing their jobs and focus on them.

I want to address the issue of housing in terms of new builds and retrofitting. The Government needs to make a decision on whether it will prioritise new builds or retrofitting because we simply do not have the workers to do both. I ask that the Government give consideration through the climate action plan to eco-friendly measures in new builds and prioritising them in social housing. I spoke to the Minister about this when I tried to get a green roof and allotments for social housing units being built in my area. The local authority said it could not do it. It said the green roof was too heavy and that it would destabilise the structure, and every reason possible was given as to why it could not put the green roof on the building. This needs to be mainstreamed in local authorities. It is not just individual actions that will address the climate crisis. It is by using collective action, and through the State and its organisations such as the OPW and local authorities, that we can have a real impact on making our buildings green and sustainable.

I will go back to the five tests of Government set down by the Stop Climate Chaos Coalition. Does Government policy acknowledge the scale of the challenge? Does the climate plan accept that Ireland must get to net zero emissions by 2050 and that the 2030 targets must be strengthened? I believe the Minister does, as do his Green Party colleagues, but I am not sure whether it is true in other Departments. Will the Government enact amendments to the 2000 Act before the end of 2020? Work is progressing on this. Does the plan cut emissions in every sector and not just consider and explore? I believe the Minister does, as do his Green Party colleagues in the Government, but I am not sure it has been mainstreamed throughout Departments. I thank the Minister for appearing before the House and for the work that he and the Green Party are doing to put that on the agenda and keep it there, and to try to mainstream it across Departments. On the Opposition benches, it is a challenge that we all need to be able to tackle together and we will support them in doing that.