Results 1-20 of 29,513 for speaker:Eamon Ryan

Ireland's Recognition of the State of Palestine: Statements (28 May 2024)

Eamon Ryan: I was very proud that the Green Party argued passionately for the recognition of Palestine in the programme for Government we agreed with Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael in 2020. Events have moved on since then, tragically so, but the case for recognising the Palestine was as strong back then as it is now. It was not a question of if, but of when and to what effect. Today we deliver on that...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Finalisation of Draft National Energy and Climate Plan and the National Long-Term Strategy: Discussion (28 May 2024)

Eamon Ryan: I am very glad to be here to give an opening statement on our national energy and climate plan, NECP, and the long-term strategy. The integrated national energy and climate plan collates the policies, measures and actions related to energy and climate outlined in a range of Government plans, such as the climate action plan, the national development plan, and Project Ireland 2040 into one...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Finalisation of Draft National Energy and Climate Plan and the National Long-Term Strategy: Discussion (28 May 2024)

Eamon Ryan: First, it is a real challenge for us to meet the targets. That is because our population is growing, which is not taken into account in either the European or UN processes. Our economy is also growing very quickly compared with those of other European countries. However, we can and will do it.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Finalisation of Draft National Energy and Climate Plan and the National Long-Term Strategy: Discussion (28 May 2024)

Eamon Ryan: May I finish answering the question? The real challenge is how to plan for long-term change over the next two to three decades so that Ireland can become a zero-carbon country. I am absolutely convinced that we can and will do that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Finalisation of Draft National Energy and Climate Plan and the National Long-Term Strategy: Discussion (28 May 2024)

Eamon Ryan: Agreed. I can answer that-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Finalisation of Draft National Energy and Climate Plan and the National Long-Term Strategy: Discussion (28 May 2024)

Eamon Ryan: As the director of the EPA said on the radio this morning, there are further measures that have been implemented or outlined by Government. We have also signalled that there are further measures we will need to take to close that gap. It is true that there is a gap on the basis of the policies and projects in respect of which the EPA can carry out its modelling. To answer the Deputy's...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Finalisation of Draft National Energy and Climate Plan and the National Long-Term Strategy: Discussion (28 May 2024)

Eamon Ryan: To answer the Deputy's question, in the past year we also introduced a major new transport demand management modelling exercise and plan to help close the gap in transport. For some of the measures, for example, what we plan to do in Dublin city centre this summer, the EPA has not modelled them because it does not find it easy to model those sorts of projected changes. How could it model...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Finalisation of Draft National Energy and Climate Plan and the National Long-Term Strategy: Discussion (28 May 2024)

Eamon Ryan: They are in the climate action plan, but not all of them are in the projections of the EPA. The EPA projections-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Finalisation of Draft National Energy and Climate Plan and the National Long-Term Strategy: Discussion (28 May 2024)

Eamon Ryan: -----have to be based on very strict UN guidelines in terms of what can be measured. It does not include all the additional measures at which Government is looking. Can I give the Deputy another example?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Finalisation of Draft National Energy and Climate Plan and the National Long-Term Strategy: Discussion (28 May 2024)

Eamon Ryan: I have just come out of Cabinet where we have agreed a further measure to reduce the emissions in our cement sector. That is one example. To take the point the Deputy mentioned that we have not lived up to what we committed to in terms of increasing petrol and diesel prices, which I understand is referred to by the EPA, I explicitly said in every single Chamber, in this committee and...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Finalisation of Draft National Energy and Climate Plan and the National Long-Term Strategy: Discussion (28 May 2024)

Eamon Ryan: No, it was-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Finalisation of Draft National Energy and Climate Plan and the National Long-Term Strategy: Discussion (28 May 2024)

Eamon Ryan: The plan contains a whole variety of different options for changing our transport system. However, what I always said explicitly in the Dáil and in these committees is that would not be fair on the Irish public and that it would be socially unjust because what we need to do is provide the better alternative first.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Finalisation of Draft National Energy and Climate Plan and the National Long-Term Strategy: Discussion (28 May 2024)

Eamon Ryan: If I can just finish the point because this is important-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Finalisation of Draft National Energy and Climate Plan and the National Long-Term Strategy: Discussion (28 May 2024)

Eamon Ryan: The biggest political obstacle in meeting our targets is getting political support for what we will do, which is reallocate road space so that the buses work quicker, traffic is less gridlocked and the system works for everyone. That, and not increasing prices of diesel and petrol, was the stated Government policy and my clear direction as Minister as to where we were going to go. It is...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Finalisation of Draft National Energy and Climate Plan and the National Long-Term Strategy: Discussion (28 May 2024)

Eamon Ryan: No, I have not.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Finalisation of Draft National Energy and Climate Plan and the National Long-Term Strategy: Discussion (28 May 2024)

Eamon Ryan: It is a UN system. The EPA acknowledges this. I had a very good meeting with the EPA. We absolutely rely on it for its independent scientific assessment. That is really useful. However, there are measures that are not fully funded yet or that need to be developed, for instance, the promotion of rail freight, which require further Government action and initiative before they can be...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Finalisation of Draft National Energy and Climate Plan and the National Long-Term Strategy: Discussion (28 May 2024)

Eamon Ryan: We will not be late in putting this forward. We will present it to the European Commission before the end of June, which is when it wants it by. This is the important document. Earlier, draft documents were not the final document. I would have preferred to have had the document earlier last autumn rather than in December. It has taken us time to scale up the modelling capability within...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Finalisation of Draft National Energy and Climate Plan and the National Long-Term Strategy: Discussion (28 May 2024)

Eamon Ryan: The long-term strategy will also be published in June. They go together and will both be finalised and agreed next month and, in the case of the NECP, presented to the European Commission. The latter is important because the Commission has to aggregate all NECPs, incorporating them into the European position within the climate negotiations.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Finalisation of Draft National Energy and Climate Plan and the National Long-Term Strategy: Discussion (28 May 2024)

Eamon Ryan: Could the Deputy show me another Department that has doubled in size in four years? That is what ours has done. We need to go further. One of the biggest problems we have had in the past four years has been that An Bord Pleanála had a very difficult period. We all know the reasons behind this. The body was not resourced enough. It has since been resourced, and my understanding,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Finalisation of Draft National Energy and Climate Plan and the National Long-Term Strategy: Discussion (28 May 2024)

Eamon Ryan: I just looked around at my officials. I do not know how many of them were here three or five years ago. Mine is a whole new Department and new officials have come in.