Ba mhaith liom filleadh ar an ábhar athrú aeráide, go háirid i gcomhthéacs na tuarascála damanta a d’fhoilsigh an áisíneacht EPA inniu agus an teachtaireacht láidir nach bhfuilimid chun ár spriocanna a chomhlíonadh. An teachtaireacht ba láidre ón tuarascáil sin ná go bhfuil sé thar am beart a dhéanamh de réir ár mbriathar.

I am returning to the issue of climate change in the context of Galway city and today's report from the EPA. The strong message from the EPA is that we need to stop talking and take action. This message comes after the UN Secretary General stated:

Some Government and business leaders are saying one thing, but doing another. Simply put, they are lying. And the results will be catastrophic.

I am not interested in having a back and forth with smart comments. Let me pre-empt the Taoiseach's indignation and outrage by saying that I welcome the changes the Government has made to public transport. I say this in the context of Galway city. Táim ag díriú an spotsolas ar chathair na Gaillimhe, atá plúchta le truailliú tráchta, rud atá ag cur isteach ar mhuintir na cathrach, ar a gcuid sláinte agus ar ghnó na cathrach. I am asking the Taoiseach to stop the rhetoric and smart comments. I will not engage in them today; this is far too serious. We have a beautiful city, cathair dhátheangach ar thairseach na Gaeltachta is mó sa tír, smothered with traffic. We have a traffic plan that is not fit for purpose. Indeed, it was not fit for purpose in 2016.

I had the privilege of being mayor. With the co-operation of the councillors, we included park-and-ride facilities in the city development plan in 2005, but here we are however many years later and there are still no park-and-ride facilities in Galway. We have a National Transport Authority, NTA, without any sense of urgency or reality as regards climate change telling us that it is now looking at the eastern side of the city while utterly forgetting the western side.

I will speak about the positive changes that have occurred. There has been a reduction in transport fares, which begs the question as to why public transport has not been made completely free of charge, even on a pilot basis, given the astronomical climate challenges we are facing. Public transport works.

Regarding Galway, will the Taoiseach commit to having a feasibility study on light rail? The Minister for Transport has repeatedly stated, including no later than two or three weeks ago, that there is no problem with money. In 2018, 22,500 people signed a petition. I have repeatedly brought this matter to the attention of this and the previous Governments. I am simply asking for a feasibility study as one ingredient in the transformative change that Galway city needs.

Go bunúsach, aontaím leis an Teachta go bhfuil géarghá ann i bhfad níos mó a dhéanamh chomh tapa agus is féidir linn, agus é a dhéanamh níos tapúla, chun déileáil leis an ngéarchéim aeráide atá againn. Tá an dúshlán atá amach romhainn práinneach agus caithfimid i bhfad níos mó a dhéanamh níos tapúla.

I agree with the Deputy that we have to move faster and we have to do an awful lot more in terms of climate change. I recently heard Mr. John Kerry, the US envoy, pointing out that world experts were saying that even if we took action now, it would not stop a crisis caused by climate change. It would just stop the worst consequences of the crisis. Already, we are experiencing a crisis brought about by climate change. The challenge ahead of us now is to move fast as a world to prevent the worst consequences. We have a lot of drought in the Horn of Africa, for example. We have desertification and so on. We have got to move quickly. That is why we have taken measures. I appreciate that the Deputy has acknowledged that in terms of some of the public transport measures in particular. She has referenced those in terms of the experience in Galway.

I will talk to the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan. My view is that he is committed to the idea of light rail in all of our cities. In terms of commissioning a feasibility study in respect of that, I will talk to him.

I know that in the recovery and resilience plan, significant funding was allocated, for example, in the Cork area for the Mallow-Midleton commuter line through Kent Station, with a view to creating proper commuter lines that would encourage development, including residential development, compact growth and so on in the cities and towns. Likewise in terms of fare reductions, we will continue to look at that issue in the context of the next budget in terms of that strategy and encouraging people to use public transport.

I did not get a chance in the earlier exchange to discuss active travel. Fairly transformative work has already been done on active travel and we are only two years in government. The budget for active travel will transform the country in terms of cycling routes, walking routes and access to cities as a result.

There has been a significant improvement in solar. Offshore wind is key for this country. Again, the European Union will be bringing in a regulation - this will cause challenges - with a view to creating an overriding public interest in terms of getting wind farms established, which local governments can then take into account when trying to fast-track offshore wind projects, which we need to do.

There comes a point when language has to mean something. I appreciate the Taoiseach's positive comments. Galway city is a golden opportunity for the Government to make its commitment to climate change a reality. The park-and-ride element of the 2005 development plan has not been acted on. Something is wrong. The NTA has no sense of urgency. There are no park-and-ride facilities. There is no comprehensive programme to lift traffic for schools. There is no feasibility study even though 22,500 people asked for one in 2018. If the Taoiseach is today committing to a basic feasibility study, I welcome it. According to IBEC, that lovely organisation that the Taoiseach so respects, the Government needs to address quality of life and sustainability issues in the west, including Galway city, if Galway is to progress. Mr. Conor Faughnan, then with the AA, stated that traffic in Galway was embarrassingly bad for the city's modest size. He has come out in favour of light rail.

I appeal to the Taoiseach to make words mean something. When the cross-party committee on climate change sat, there was a strong suggestion that Galway would be picked as a pilot project for sustainable development and traffic. Here is the golden opportunity. Déan beart de réir do bhriathar.

Every city and town in the country has to be a model of sustainability, especially Galway. I know there has been a fairly divisive row in Galway in respect of the ring road that has gone on for a long, long time. By the way, light rail and a proper road system are not mutually exclusive either. I do not know why park and ride has not happened in Galway. That is fundamentally a matter for the local authority.

No. The NTA.

Other cities have had them for a long, long time.

The NTA-----

Yes, but there has to be a liaison with local authorities, sites have to be identified and routes have to be organised.

Seventeen years.

I do not understand why it has not happened in Galway. We will follow that up-----

Good. I thank the Taoiseach.

-----with the local authority and the NTA. There should be a park-and-ride facility in a city like Galway. Other cities have park-and-ride facilities. They are not the full answer, but they are important. Above all, other cities have moved faster in terms of pedestrianisation and changing the nature of cities. We need to do that far faster.