Mary White (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)

This year also sees massive investment in water infrastructure and a continuing increase in the number of group water schemes, in compliance with national drinking water standards. Water is a fundamental issue. It is everybody's issue. It knows no boundaries. Water is precious and we must safeguard it. We are putting considerable resources towards that, which is one of my major objectives.

The Government has a commitment to investment in public transport, another form of environmentally friendly infrastructure. Almost €1 billion is being spent this year on public transport projects and the safeguarding of future public transport projects will ensure jobs are sustained and that our travelling and commuting trends will be sustainable.

An issue which must be addressed is co-operation between State agencies and local players in developing the green economy and green infrastructural spend. I am trying to advance an example of a project in my home town so that Carlow can become the first green energy town in Ireland. What would such a town mean? It would mean energy efficient housing stock powered by green energy. It would mean that public transport is powered by renewable energies, with commuter buses for neighbouring towns and villages, running on bio-fuel. Some already do so, as do some of our businesses which feed into light rail powered by bio-gas. That offers farmers an example of an end use for waste straws and slurries.

It would mean the establishment of a biomass depot, as envisaged by Coillte, where residual wood such as thinnings might be used as a source of energy. These are particularly good examples for a rural community. It would mean a bio-gas plant as a source of power. I think of third-level institutions and hope that Carlow Institute of Technology might become the first Solarteur school in Ireland, training engineers, designers, installers in all forms of renewable energy. I have spoken to the director, Dr. Ruairi Nevin, about the need to progress this idea, to my county manager, Tom Barry, and to Dr. Jimmy Burke of Teagasc about bringing all these initiatives into play so that we can create jobs in Carlow and make it a dynamic green town.

All these projects, and similar concepts for other towns throughout rural Ireland, need co-ordination between agencies. I would like to see a further role being played by the Department of Finance and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment in this regard. My colleague, the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy Eamon Ryan, is advancing the digital economy with his work on next-generation broadband, the national broadband scheme and other projects. Capital borrowing makes sense at this juncture and that is why the Government is continuing to spend.

Recessions have the potential to sap the very soul of people. It is easy to get depressed when one has lost one's job or one's savings or both. What we must do is send a very clear message, not only of hope for a quick recovery but of a clear path that will chart Ireland's journey back to a solid financial recovery that will boost confidence in the markets and grow jobs. That is our mandate and that is what we are doing, offering simple pathways to progress based on the new green deal which is long-term and eminently achievable. There is no other way forward.

See this speech in context