Seanad debates

Tuesday, 12 October 2021

12:00 pm

Photo of John McGahonJohn McGahon (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will focus on some of the climate action measures in the budget, as I did last year. Some weeks ago, I said in the House that I was worried by a report from the Department of Finance on plans to increase VRT, including on electric vehicles. I am happy to see the Government realised the importance of extending the VRT relief for electric vehicles until the end of 2023. At the time, I referred to Finland which has seen a massive uptake of electric vehicles in the space of three or four years thanks to various financial measures, including an eco-tax on diesel and petrol. In Finland, it has reached the point where it is financially insane not to drive an electric vehicle. The Finns have also invested huge sums in improving their electric vehicle charging network, which I would like to see addressed in next year's budget. We already have a substantial network but we need a dedicated financial strategy to improve our charging systems, particularly in the major cities of Dublin, Cork and Galway. If substantial funding is put into the charging network, it will make the shift to electric vehicles easier.

Today's announcement on the retrofitting scheme is extremely impressive, with €202 million provided to retrofit 20,000 homes over the next year. In County Louth, €2 million has been given to the local authority. It has started retrofitting homes already and I have seen how well that is going.

I also welcome the measures related to apprenticeships. People do not need to go to college and we need to show them that an apprenticeship provides an equally good chance of a good career, salary and future. That was not the belief for the last ten or 15 years in this country, for whatever reason, but I am pleased to see what we are doing with apprenticeships. They will feed into the retrofit schemes in terms of the creation of green jobs.

I also welcome the youth travel card initiative under which €25 million has been provided for people between the ages of 17 and 25.That, too, is an excellent initiative. It is a progressive way of getting people onto public transport while saving them money. I would love to see it extended at some stage in the future.

While we are on the issue of travel cards, it would be remiss of me not to mention the idea of introducing a three-day taxsaver ticket for commuters. As the Minister of State will be aware, as a result of 1997 legislation, taxsaver tickets must be provided on a monthly or annual basis. Last week, the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, clarified the issue when he stated a legislative change was not necessary and we could introduce a 100-day taxsaver ticket or similar. I would appreciate if the Minister of State and the officials conveyed to the NTA the message that legislative change is not necessary and, consequently, there should be no delay in introducing a simple ticket that will save commuters money. We have known for some time that these tickets are required.

On green hydrogen, it is important that hydrogen features in the budget and that the Government recognises it. A hydrogen strategy is necessary and I hope one will be published in the climate action plan, which is due to be published imminently by the Government.

Considering the points I have made, this budget, as with all budgets in the past few years, has been very progressive. A huge amount of money has gone into it but it is being spent well in a smart and strategic way. We can see that in the area of climate action. The Ministers, Deputies Donohoe and Michael McGrath, and their officials should be commended on the work they have done. It is important to have so many green initiatives with so much funding in the budget. More than €360 million has been provided for active travel and greenways. So much funding in this budget is aimed at getting people out of their cars and into active travel modes such as cycling. Safe access to schools is also important. If we are to make any headway with tackling the climate crisis, it must be done in a financially viable way that is financially accessible to people from every sector of society. We will ensure people are able to do that by investing in addressing the climate crisis in the budget.

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