Mary Seery Kearney (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I very much support the Bill and everything it contains. It is time Ireland was no longer a laggard and that we become leaders in climate action, in the decisions we make at macro and micro levels. The strategy in the Bill brings together all the key players in the country and obliges them to take action, placing obligations on them with regard to their plans and targets, particularly the local authorities. I really value that engagement. My experience from being on South Dublin County Council is that it would embrace the obligations on which they have already moved ahead with in so many ways. I am proud to have been a member of that council. The Bill coming into law will further accelerate their plans.

I also really welcome the opportunity for new enterprises, for a new economy. That very much came home to me in the pre-legislative scrutiny of the Marine Planning and Development Management Bill. So many people came in and spoke to the committee about the future economy, the future pillars and industry that will be there that arises out of our sensitivity to climate action and carbon neutrality at the very least. It gave me great confidence in the future. I also admire that we have so much innovation coming through the Department of Higher and Further Education, Research, Innovation and Science with regard to education. I am concerned whether our secondary schools are equipping our young people for the courses they will apply for at third level which will be available and the skills they will need in circumstances where we still have quite gendered subjects in schools. Someone who wants to study mechanical drawing is more likely to need to go to a boys' school than a girls' school and vice versa with home economics. It is not the Minister's Department but we need to have that conversation and for the implications of this Bill to transfer across to education and into a review of what is happening in secondary schools, in particular to ensure that all genders have the skills to ensure they can play their part and that they are ready for the new industries that will emerge.I am very encouraged in that regard.

We have a problem with regard to communication and understanding. In my humble view, when one talks about climate action and naturally we are all out on the hustings in Dublin Bay South at the moment, I am struck at times by the difference. Depending on what demographic of society one is in, I am struck by how relevant climate action is to people. If one is on a minimum wage or lower base, and this is something that is out there, one might put things into the proper bin and take whatever action one can but one does not have the luxury plus there is a perception of elitism around this issue. Therefore, we need an information campaign that reaches everybody where they are at not that this is an elite group who are leading the charge on climate action but across all stratas of society, all levels of education and all backgrounders. Otherwise one will end up with a fear and an othering, and a perception that there is an elite group in here seeking to impose change on communities. All of that does is bring resistance when in actual fact our respectful meeting of people where they are at and eliciting their views and fears but respecting them is very necessary.

We talk about just transition and have great plans for the very obvious industries that are going to change, many of which have been spoken about by my colleagues. There are areas like taxi drivers where in the hear and now we need to be sure and confident that we support them. We have come through the Covid period where taxi drivers have had their income and way of living fall yet we still issued taxi licences while supporting the existing taxi drivers who are in receipt of the pandemic unemployment payment, PUP. For those whose cars will hit the ten-year period in 2022, we have not issued an extension to them in recognition of the fact that they are not going to get finance to replace their cars in 2022 so we need to take a step. The Minister has put out a really good package recently but I do not think it addresses the real needs of some of the taxi drivers who have come through the crisis, been on the breadline yet receive PUP and now in 2022 will have to change their cars. Who is going to give them finance? Have tentative discussions taken place? While wanting and moving towards the introduction of an electric fleet we could give these drivers an extension and make it conditional on the type of cars that they change to thus, as a consequence, bring them with us rather than be perceived to be imposing and othering the conversation. That is an important sensitivity that we need to have.