People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy has said that the announcement that MetroLink will be shelved for ten years shows that the government is failing spectacularly on measures to bring down transport emissions and that it does not bode well for Ireland’s Climate Action Plan and climate targets.
He said: “This shelving of MetroLink is shameful and says it all about the lack of vision for what needs to be done to mitigate our transport emissions. The idea that the production of 1 million EV cars to service this country is what is required instead of free, frequent and green public transport as a priority is a missed opportunity.
“With this announcement we can see that the government is falling at the first hurdle when it comes to bringing down transport emissions. This along with the refusal of government to bring about free, frequent and green public transport and an absolute reliance on EVs in the Climate Action Plan shows us that the government has neither the ambition or ability to deliver the radical climate measures we need.
“This further shows the need for a left government which would take the radical measures to bring down emissions.”
Speaking on COP26, which he attended, Mick Barry TD said: “I hugely enjoyed traveling to Glasgow and participating in the huge climate protests last Friday and Saturday. The climate movement has yet to peak, its potential to grow is clearly very significant. Added to this is the increasing inclination of young participants to put the entire system in the dock and to point an accusing finger at capitalism and the rule of profit. These two facts combined are grounds for real concern to the supporters of capitalism globally as we face into the rest of this decade.”