Pauline O'Reilly (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I am thankful for the opportunity to contribute after Senator Boyhan. The Minister is very welcome. We all receive letters and go to people's doors, and we know we are in crisis.We are in the midst of two crises, a climate crisis and a cost-of-living crisis. As has been said, this legislation is one small part of a set of measures. This Bill came before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Climate Action and many of us are members of that committee. We all agreed to waive pre-legislatiive scrutiny of the Bill. That was when the benefit payment proposed was €100 less then what is proposed in Bill. That showed we all understood the crisis, the emergency and that time was against us. While I take on board the issues with the fact that the payment is not targeted, we also know that we must act fast. The provisions are not in place to target this payment but many other measures are also being introduced. It is important to reach everyone because everyone is impacted. What people choose to do with this money is up to themselves but some people will rely on it heavily and need it urgently. Other measures the Minister outlined include a 20% reduction in public transport fees, a fuel allowance lump sum payment of €125, a reduction in the caps on school transport fees, a reduction in the drugs payment scheme monthly threshold from €144 to €80, which will impact on many people I know, and the front-loading of the working family payment.

I hope Senator McGahon will speak about a flexible public transport ticket, which he has raised previously. We need to address the issue of public transport. I acknowledge the Minister is not present in his role as Minister for Transport but it is an important issue. Important considerations are what plans the National Transport Authority has and how quickly it can implement those plans to ensure their roll-out. Some 70% of 15-minute journeys are made by car. We must address the fact that a modal shift is not taking place.

A total of 14 councillors on Galway City Council voted against a proposed temporary cycle lane last night, bearing in mind that with respect to 15-minute journeys, only 1.6% of people cycle them. We need to urgently address these matters. Part of that is to ensure we have the necessary public transport and that it is available. We are coming to that point now with Connecting Ireland and so on. Part of that is also a responsibility on local authorities and local councillors and that means every party playing its part. Only two political parties voted in favour last night, not of retaining the temporary cycle lane in Salthill as it had not been put in place but of keeping to what had been their previous message, namely, that they were in favour of the putting in place of a temporary cycle lane. Everybody must play his or her part and not only the Minister but the local authorities. Under the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021, relevant bodies also have obligations. That must include local authorities but they are not stepping up to the mark. Time and again we have put forward funding to introduce such measures, which are low-hanging fruit when it comes to climate action, and councillors have voted against them and executives have not put them forward. We have a climate crisis but also a crisis when it comes to local authorities and local democracy. Every day people contact me who desperately want action to be taken to ensure their children do not have to get into a car to go to school. I live five minutes from the promenade in Salthill and I certainly would not cycle with my children along that road. I would cycle it but one has to dodge in and out as car doors are opened and closed all along the promenade. It is simply not safe for even the hardiest of cyclists. Therefore, there is an obligation on everyone, not only on the Minister.

I would like to address the fact that some parties are against a carbon tax. Sinn Féin is one of the very few parties, internationally, against a carbon tax; that is a fact.