Eamon Ryan, the Minister for the Environment, has called on political parties to outline in their election manifestos how they plan to prioritise and fund transport in relation to housing in provincial cities, to offset overdevelopment in Dublin. If construction continues to be focussed heavily on Dublin, this would result in the country being imbalanced, with weight shifting towards the east coast, he stated at a meeting of the Oireachtas Committee on Environment and Climate Action.
He cited that an upcoming revision of the national planning framework would help sync housing and transport. He also noted that increased transport construction is underway, demonstrated by a rise in housing being built around railway stations, particularly on the east coast. This is being supported by investment in the Dart, metro and Luas services.
Ryan highlighted that Waterford is emerging as an example of effective transport-led development, with similar progress being seen in Cork and Limerick. Furnishing transport would address both the issues of housing and climate, however, this requires substantial political commitment, the Minister added.
Brian Leddin TD, the Committee Chairman and member of the Green Party, welcomed the fact that transport emissions had reached a peak in Ireland and were now separate from economic growth. However, he voiced concern over the difficulty in decoupling emissions from population growth.
Leddin emphasized the necessity of focusing on where people will reside. He suggested that well-developed regional cities with adequate housing density and swift rail services would prevent a resurgence of transport emissions.
While recognising the significant growth in the use of public transport, Ryan noted the importance of heavily investing in transport to combat the currently car-dependent system. When questioned by Darren O’Rourke TD from Sinn Féin about renewable energy projects, Ryan was firm that there was no congestion. He expressed confidence that the Government’s target of five gigawatts by 2030 will be met if the first set of six offshore wind farms can overcome planning and legal obstacles efficiently. Additionally, he said the aim of having 195,000 electric vehicles on Irish roads by 2025 is feasible as charging infrastructure development progresses.
Mr. Ryan announced that resource issues within An Bord Pleanála have now been rectified. However, he indicated that there are still problems at the local authority level that need scrutiny, as some have effectively barred themselves from the renewable energy shift due to their established developmental projects.
When People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy questioned Mr. Ryan about the potential risk Ireland may face due to the rising electricity demand from data centres, which could be exacerbated by the requirements of artificial intelligence, Mr. Ryan candidly replied, “We all bear the responsibility to meet our climate restrictions … I firmly believe that data centres have the capacity to abide by these limits whilst providing tangible benefits to our nation.”
Nonetheless, Mr. Ryan was firm in his stance that gas-powered electricity generation was not a suitable choice. He confirmed that he had unequivocally instructed Gas Networks Ireland to divert from that path.