The M20 is a very important route that we need to see prioritised by the Government. When we discuss regions, it is really about access to Cork, Galway and Limerick as a counterfoil to Dublin. The people of Cork, Limerick, Galway and Clare deserve to have that motorway. It will allow us to promote jobs and industry in those areas.

I am aware that the Minister has been lobbied extensively on the events centre in Cork. It is a flagship project that we must see come to fruition. There has been a lot of to-ing and fro-ing on this project. The Minister's Cabinet colleague, Deputy Coveney, has been working very hard on the issue. It is an extremely important project for the city of Cork. There will be a request to Government, if one has not already been made, regarding future funding. I would hope that in analysing this, the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, will recognise that the project is central to the promotion of Cork as a location for business, industry, the hospitality sector and the whole concert and conference business. We have seen the growth of Cork Airport and the emergence of transatlantic routes out of it. The Minister has always been supportive of Cork Airport. To his credit, he came to Cork and engaged with the airport and stuck with the project at a time when it was not popular. I will always remember that.

The N28 project is slightly out of the remit of the Minister but is linked to him in terms of capital funding. That is the project of most concern and contention in our area. I ask the Leas-Chathaoirleach to bear with me for one minute. There has been a commitment to develop the project. However, it needs to be revisited by Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, which has not engaged meaningfully with residents in Rochestown, Carr's Hill or Douglas. It has vexed the minds of people. We are investing State money in a very important road. We all understand that the Port of Cork is moving to Ringaskiddy, which most of us welcome, although some may not. If we do not see change in the emerging route as proposed by TII, it will create absolute mayhem for the local communities. This is not nimbyism. It is about local communities being totally discommoded and adversely affected by a project that can be advanced better by working in partnership.

I thank the Minister for coming to the House tonight. I wish him, his Department and all involved in the public sector pay talks well. Those talks are very important. In respect of the mid-term review of the capital plan, I believe the Minister will hear from all of us in this House about the need to see investment in capital infrastructure.

I am the Green Party Senator and a member of the Civil Engagement group. I have not met the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, before. I welcome him to the House.

Currently, the capital plan equates sustainability with fiscal sustainability. The reality is that Ireland is not a profit-maximising enterprise but a society of shared lives reliant on natural ecosystems. Ecological and social sustainability must be mainstreamed across all aspects of Government policy. Our long-term prosperity, which relies on social and ecological factors, must be prioritised over short-term gain. We must rely on indicators other than GDP to reflect how well our society is prospering. These could include the sustainable development goals, the index of sustainable economic welfare and the human development index. A range of economic shifts will be required to make the transition. These include moving taxation from economic activity to pollution and resource use, decoupling economic security and full employment and ensuring the stability of the monetary and banking systems in a stable economy. This transition requires long-term thinking and a greater role for public investment to create and maintain solid, long-lasting fiscal, social and environmental assets. Investment is a fundamental aspect of the new green economy as prosperity today means little if it undermines prosperity tomorrow.

The revised capital plan is widening its analysis beyond fiscal sustainability. This can make a lasting contribution to Ireland's future by setting us on a pathway to a low-carbon economy. The capital plan should be in line with the low-carbon transition goal of 100% decarbonisation by 2050 as required by the Paris agreement. The capital plan must set out the investment required for the transition, securing the long-term cross-party investment required. One has to remember that what economists view as costs in analysing carbon abatement are for the most part investments in new capital stock. The building of that capital stock creates prosperity.

It will be impossible to meet our Paris Agreement commitments without immediate reductions in transport emissions. The target of merely holding to 2005 emissions is not enough yet we are not even achieving that. Immediate investment in walking, cycling and public transport is essential and to comply with the smarter travel goals, specific funding commitments are required, that is, at least 20% of transport funding must be allocated to walking and cycling, as recommended by the United Nations Environment Programme, and at least 50% of transport funding must be allocated to public transport.

The current capital plan essentially adopts the strategic investment framework for land transport. As identified by many of the submissions to the draft framework, its handling of climate change was inadequate. On foot of the enactment of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015, continuation of the approach taken in the capital plan and the strategic investment framework on which it was based is not a lawful option. Transport investments need to be fundamentally rethought from the original plan, which prioritised investment for motor vehicles. Walking and cycling should be prioritised. The plan should provide for the full implementation of the greater Dublin area cycle network, implementation of similar cycle networks for other urban areas such as Waterford, Cork, Limerick and Galway and implementation of a nationwide greenway network such as that recently opened in Waterford.

A full investment strategy is needed for the improvement and expansion of the rail network as the core of an integrated public transport network, comprising rail and bus. Investment in roads should be restricted to investments which can be demonstrated to lead to reductions rather than increases in greenhouse gas emissions. Aviation is responsible for 5% of global warming, but far from contracting as all major emissions sources must, it is one of the fastest growing sectors. It is the most carbon-intensive means of travel. The European Union has included aviation in the emissions trading scheme and the International Civil Aviation Organisation is working to create an international framework for controlling emissions. Dublin Airport's expansion plans are based on predicted demand which ignores climate change. The only potential future in which the proposal for a third runway is justified is one in which no measures are taken to limit aviation emissions. If the countries of the world, including Ireland and the European Union, live up to their commitments to the Paris Agreement on climate change, the third runway will be a white elephant.

Climate change is acknowledged by the Government as the greatest national and global crisis. We must do everything in our power to recognise that in the capital plan and ensure modes of transport and every aspect of society supports the positive climate and decarbonisation method.