Gerry Horkan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister. I was local councillor when he was a Deputy for Dublin South and we know each other well. It is not today or yesterday that he was talking about climate change or getting involved with things. He does not just talk to talk but he walks the walk. When I attended UCD in the early 1990s, he ran the bike shop at a time when bikes were not as fashionable as they are now. I often cycle to Leinster House and I cycle through the Minister's constituency, Dublin Bay South. We probably share the same cycle lanes in and out.

We have made good progress in getting people to do what the planners and engineers call modal shift. I pay tribute to Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council for all it has done, not just with the coastal mobility route, which has attracted considerable attention and conversation, but throughout the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council area. I remember discussing a development plan in 2008 or 2009 when a particular councillor suggested we should rip up all those cycle lanes because they were only taking up space that nobody was using. Now, however, they are very busy and we are widening them. They are getting a great amount of use and have become incredibly popular.

The Bill is very important for Ireland and it is important that we play our part. We have a whole generation of people who are really involved and want to play their part and bring other generations, who may not have taken it so seriously in the past, with them. There is great activity in schools and among our young people. While canvassing, not just in the by-election but in local elections or general elections, we find younger people in particular are really interested in what we are doing about climate change. In all our activities and everything we do, including the light bulbs we use, the packaging we buy, the type of products we buy and the origins of those products, we must consider how we are generating a carbon footprint.

Much of what is in the legislation before us relates to carbon budgets. Any budget involves an income side and an expenditure side. On one side, it is how much were using carbon and, on the other, it is how much we can generate in terms of afforestation, offshore and onshore wind or other energy that can be regenerated from the planet rather than using fossil fuels. We must ensure that everything we do is proofed against it. I am frightened and surprised that we are still using polystyrene packaging which we all know was phased out in many restaurants and takeaway outlets many years ago, but some butchers and supermarkets are still using it.

We need a whole-of-government approach. We need to ensure that we do not leave it to the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment and his Department. Of course, Minister is responsible for two Departments, the other being the Department of Transport, which is very much involved with carbon consumption.

We need to look at our settlement strategy which frightens people who believe they are not being allowed to build anywhere. It is not about that.For the benefits of being able to walk and to have protection from Neighbourhood Watch against crime, people want to live closer to a village, rather than in the more traditional ribbon development we are all used to. That is not to say some people cannot or should not live in those areas. They need to live in those areas. Agriculture is a vital part of our economy and our agriculture sector is, relative to many other countries, very energy efficient and consumes less carbon. At the same time, it is fearful of the change. The midlands, particularly, having been so involved with Bord na Móna, peat generation, peat briquettes and power generation, needs to be convinced there is a future post carbon consumption.

I congratulate the Minister on getting into this Government. I congratulate the whole of the Government and the Parliament that has adopted this. There are few votes in the Dáil Chamber where it is a 129 on one side to ten on the other. Let us try to bring the ten with us as well. Some of them are fearful and reluctant to take on some of the challenges but, equally, they have genuine concerns which need to be listened to. We need to talk it through with everybody. It makes little sense for us to be paying fines for not reaching our emissions targets while we are not helping people insulate their houses or attics, get new windows or get wrap-around installation on their houses. Much of our housing stock, unfortunately, is poor historically in terms of energy efficiency.

Everything we do has to be more carbon efficient and less demanding of energy. Many people I know who have done renovation jobs on their houses are amazed how little energy they need because they have put in the investment. Many other people do not have the ability, finances or resources to do it. Work has been done by many power companies to bring people with them, encouraging insulation and putting various schemes in place that allow people to pay back in their ESB or power bills over time.

Every step of this journey we take is positive but we cannot delay. The sooner we start, the more we can achieve. I thank the Minister for all he is doing.