Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire go dtí an Teach. The old political cliché is that one day in government is better than any day in opposition. Today is the proof that government is where it matters. The Minister is in a position not just of privilege but of driving real profound change for the people of Ireland, for Europe and the world. The legitimacy of the Government is contained in this legislation today. I commend my friend and colleague, Senator McGahon, on his role as one of our party's representatives from the House on the climate action committee and on his steadfast commitment to the pursuit of what is entailed in this Bill. I thank him and Deputies Bruton and Alan Farrell as well. Some of our colleagues in the House today were talking about members of the Minister's own party. I am not going to create a political row but we can all leave political parties and we can all try to pursue our own individual agendas. However, as I said at the outset, today is about Government delivering and leading the change on how we act and are perceived. Covid-19, in conjunction with this Bill in a parallel world, has shown us how we can transform and reimagine how we live in terms of the use of space and our rural and urban landscapes, but it also poses significant questions to us that we must answer in a different way. These questions concern the use of space, how we live, how we recreate and about our environment. I am thinking today of Cork city with the 17 pedestrianised streets. I am thinking about how we can, and how the Minister has, as part of Government, increased investment in supports to the city. Contained in section 15 of the Bill is how we can work with the local authorities in the context of the provisions in the proposed new sections 14B(1) to 14B(3) about the enactment of the Bill and the role of local authorities. It shows how we can engage with them and how we can drive change and make life better.

I have one concern from a peripheral point of view. I must be honest that I am concerned about quangos and the Climate Change Advisory Council part of the Bill. I would like the Minister to explain again and address the concerns some of us have regarding the power of the council. My concerns come from a very simple viewpoint and philosophy, which is that I believe in the primacy of Parliament. Moreover, as a former Chair of an Oireachtas committee, I believe in the importance of and structure of our parliamentary committees. I would not anything to undermine either of those. I accept it is an advisory committee but I hope the Minister will come back to me on that.

The number of farmers in the Cork South-Central constituency is quite small. A number of them, who are not climate change deniers and are not in any way against climate change and moving farming forward, have expressed concerns. I ask that the Minister continue to engage with the farming community to reassure it and move with it.

The national planning framework has an important role to play with regard to climate change but also in developing our cities, and Cork and its metropolitan area in particular. The Government has provided for €3.5 billion in a 20-year programme aimed at improving public transport and mobility within the city and to it. We should all embrace and welcome this. I must be fair to the Minister that in his short time in post, he has driven that investment and that change. The role of the National Transport Authority, NTA, together with the Minister, in developing the Cork metropolitan strategy is very important. All of us support the investment in walking, cycling, public transport, road infrastructure and rail. As an aside, I have an appeal to make to the Minister about the Lee to Sea greenway. It is a new one that is being developed. It is a project we should all support. It has huge potential and I commend those involved in it. In the context of the Cork metropolitan strategy, I ask that the Minister, together with the NTA and Cork city and county councils, create a new NTA office in Cork. We need this to drive the change, to implement the vision the Minister has put on paper, to align the policies and to deliver, whether it is on housing, environmental services or transport, community or social services.For the promised investment to be delivered, for the investment in the modern bus company that is now Bus Éireann in Cork, for Irish Rail to deliver and to continue the work it is doing - Irish Rail is doing huge work in Cork, as the Minister is aware - and for putting in place the final pieces of BusConnects, then I believe an NTA office in Cork that is driven and dedicated to the projects involved and to overseeing and implementing change is needed.

These are exciting times for Cork city. The city development plan is being drafted. We have seen Government commitment with the urban regeneration fund and with Project Ireland 2040. A framework has been put in place to improve the quality of life of the citizens of Cork, and by extension of Ireland. I note that the Fine Gael by-election candidate, James Geoghegan, has the concept of a 15-minute city for Dublin. I hope that we can develop this into Cork and other parts of urban Ireland too.

I commend the Minister on the work he is doing. I thank him for his commitment. I hope that we can deliver for Cork together.