Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will be brief in my contribution.

First, I congratulate the Minister. Senator Dooley made the point about the Minister's refreshing contribution. It was brilliant. The Minister, in his speech this morning here without a note, spoke in a simple way. I hope the Houses of the Oireachtas will take what the Minister said and replay it widely to the students and, as Senator Chambers said, to older people. That speech today, I believe, will bring people on a further journey because it is about the conviction the Minister has. It is about the sincerity but also about how we can get there and challenging us in terms of the social justice element or in the context of justice in countries, such as Pakistan or the island nations, which are suffering.

Equally, if we look at our own city of Cork, where we have significant flooding issues, it is about convincing people of the need to change the model of living in the context of our plans for the city. I spoke yesterday, on the Finance Bill, about Cork city. Cities are a major source of carbon emissions. I hope before the Minister leaves office - I hope he does not leave office for a long time - that we get that BusConnects and Cork light rail project over the line because that would be a transformative piece around the future of Cork.

When we talk about global temperatures, today we are talking about a big freeze in our country. This morning is like an autumn morning and yet in parts of the country there is freezing fog, there is frost, and there are people in fear of what will happen tonight and tomorrow. What the Minister has done this morning here is important.

The other point that is equally important is what Senator McGahon said about the issue of renewables. We have a significant opportunity to make our country that place to be. The former Taoiseach, Mr. Enda Kenny, used to call Ireland, the best small country in the world in which to do business, but we can do the same here in the renewable energy industries space. The Finance Bill yesterday did things for digital filming and gaming and we can do the same here.

Today, a report has been published as part of Cork's inclusion in the World Economic Forum's Net Zero Carbon Cities initiative, which shows that public transport, in terms of carbon emissions, contributes 32% and households and the lived environment contributes 27%.That goes back to my fundamental point about how we can collectively change the model of living. If we do not do it, we are in big trouble. It is not about Pakistan or the island nations or faraway places. It is right here in our own country. Part of what we have to do is take a collaborate approach with local authorities. We cannot put everything on the local authorities but the Government must lead. The Government's next line is the local authority. The Minister has been driving the issue of retrofitting. I made the point yesterday in the debate on the Finance Bill. In parts of Cork, where I live, the cost of retrofitting is prohibitive for the people living in the many old houses. We should change the living city initiative to include older properties in regard to first-time buyers. Significant changes have been made on the grant and the application process but it is still somewhat burdensome. It is taxing for people. Can that we looked at in the context of this debate? In his contribution the Minister has challenged us. The key message we take away from him today is that if we do nothing or do not play our part then we are all guilty.

To return to the point I made at the outset, in Cork we have a huge opportunity. The Minister has been a great proponent of BusConnects. It disappoints me to see public representatives denigrating the work being done, almost saying it should be scrapped. We have issues in the first iteration of the plan around the loss of land and discommoding people. To be fair to the NTA, it has engaged and continues to do so.

On aviation, I am sorry to have missed the Minister in the transport committee yesterday, I know there is some back-and-forth with different airlines. The International Air Transport Association, IATA, had a meeting yesterday. We are an island nation. Connectivity is critical to us. As a consequence, we need a debate about aviation and how we cannot penalise ourselves further in respect of the taxation model that could become part of our aviation sector. We are dependent on aviation for industry, economics, culture, tourism and for getting on and off the island.