Friends:
It's great to be here in Louth. This has been our best Conference yet. You can sense the enthusiasm and excitement. So far we have had great ideas, energy, debate, discussion and friendship. And it's not over yet. Can I thank most sincerely Councillor Mark Dearey and his team for doing such an exceptional job here in Dundalk.
I know this is a joyous occasion for the Green Party. But today also we have received news of the death of former President Patrick Hillery. He was a very honourable statesman and we extend our sympathy to his family.
Stocktake
It has been an 'interesting' year.
A year which has seen our transformation from a Party of opposition to a Party of Government, a year in which we translated vision into reality, words into actions, policies into legislation. A year which has seen a major growth in our Party membership. And it is you, the Party members, who supported overwhelmingly our policy to enter Government, and it is you, the Party members, who will ensure at all times that we remain true to our founding principles and that we, in the words of John F Kennedy, 'use power, but that power does not use us'. And there is one person who understands that better than most - a man of deep principle and unswerving integrity, a man to whom the Green Party owes a great debt of gratitude. He is my friend and former Party Leader, Minister for Food, Trevor Sargent.
Managing radical change is always difficult. It brings with it challenges and understandable fears. The Green Party understands the nature of political power, its opportunities and its limitations. We knew, and recognised honestly, that we could never get everything we hoped for in Government, but equally we knew that outside of Government we could achieve nothing. What remains unchanged and steadfast is our vision of a better society and, with each and every day, more and more people can relate to our vision of better planned communities, with good quality and well-insulated houses where people have access to good public transport, and to schools and playgrounds and crèches for their children, where there is real local government and not just local administration, where our energy comes from renewable sources, where we have clean food, clean water and a healthy environment for present and future generations. It is a vision of hope and common sense from the Party of common sense and hope, or, as Eamon Ryan put it today: a party with a purpose.
Tackling climate change
My friends, we know that we are still a long way from achieving that society, but let's examine this evening what we have achieved already in Government in a very short space of time. You all know that when we made that momentous decision to enter Government, our primary motivation was a desire to tackle the defining issue of our age - climate change. We knew that all of the scientific evidence was now showing that we had a 10-year window of opportunity to stabilise CO2 emissions globally, and that this required a major policy shift, a change in attitude, a new way of political thinking, a new generosity, a new sense of partnership. We set up the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Change and we gave the chair of that Committee to a member of the opposition. We appointed members of other opposition parties to key positions on State Boards dealing with this issue because, frankly, these individuals were the best people for the job and because climate change is far too important to play politics with.
This evening I appeal to members of the opposition to reciprocate that generosity, put away the petty squabbling and the cheap shots, forget the negative nonsense, and come on board and work with us in the best interest of this country and our planet. Let us all agree on the targets and measures required to tackle climate change. It is vital that climate change now forms a part of social partnership discussions.
There is so much to be done. But we know that, if we as a people put our minds to it, we can achieve anything. It means that as citizens, as workers, as employers and business people, as farmers, as voluntary organisations and NGOs, we all need to play our part.
I believe that our system of social partnership offers the opportunity for a new cross-sectoral approach complementing a strong cross-party approach to tackle climate change.
We need to empower environmental NGOs to become part of social partnership and that is why, as Minister for the Environment, I tripled the funding for NGOs and made more money available for this purpose. We in the Green Party value the contribution of the environmental NGOs and we will do everything we can to secure their position.
Achieving in Government
Through our participation in Government, we have already changed attitudes and behaviour; we have changed the nature of public discourse on the issue of climate change. Just listen to the advertisements on the radio for cars, which now use lower CO2 emissions as a selling point. People are beginning, my friends, to think carbon - so much so that the majority of people would now support the introduction of a carbon levy. A new €13m awareness-raising campaign, the first ever of its kind, which I recently launched, has revealed that people in our society are beginning to understand that climate change is the biggest issue facing humanity. It is our task to persuade them that having the Green Party in Government and in council chambers across the country, is by far and away the best means of ensuring that energy, security and climate change issues are effectively tackled.
We acted promptly to introduce the country's first ever carbon budget and set up a special Cabinet Committee on Climate Change and Energy Security.
We implemented new rules to ensure that new houses will be 40% more energy efficient, and this is only the beginning. We will improve this to a 60% reduction in carbon dioxide by 2010, with the ultimate aim of reaching zero carbon emissions by 2016. New residential guidelines for urban areas will combat urban sprawl in our villages, towns and cities, by ensuring that public transport and schools and other facilities are provided when, and not after, the new homes are built. My friends, as long as the Green Party is in Government, the days of bad and irresponsible planning are over.
For car owners, we have made it cheaper for them to buy low emission vehicles by changing the motor tax and VRT systems. These are now based on CO2 emissions. From 1 January next, we will ensure that only low-energy light bulbs are on sale in shops. All of these measures show that Green politics is not only good for the planet, it is also good for people's pockets. Energy security and climate change will define how we live in the 21st century. It will affect our economy and quality of life. Already, all over the world, people are experiencing severe pressure as a result of climate change - in a world that is running out of oil. In Ireland, spiralling fuel and food prices are putting families under pressure. We recognise this reality and are doing everything possible to plan for the future.
Minister Eamon Ryan is leading the way. He has increased subsidies for off-shore wind from €57 to €140 per megawatt hour. He has announced a €26m investment in ocean energy and a €200m investment in energy efficient research. Only two weeks ago Eamon Ryan secured a €22bn investment in the ESB to revolutionise the company, making it a leading, green utility in the world.
These are remarkable achievements by any standard. They show clearly how we are translating vision into action, and vindicate over and over again our decision to enter Government.
Our Minister for Food and horticulture, Trevor Sargent, has been working diligently, and he bas been delivering. He has announced a €21m investment in sustainable agriculture, he initiated a new organic food strategy to be published very soon, and he has sent potato-growing kits to over 4,000 schools to teach our children about the value of food security. He is progressing the network of farmers' markets, working with local authorities and my department. When you open the Farmers' Journal - as I do every week now that I'm a Minister - you frequently see Trevor's picture is staring out at you. And it is because of Minister Trevor Sargent's work that the farmers, the food producers and the consumers of this country know that, in the Green Party, they have a real friend in Government.
I want to take this opportunity this evening to thank our other members of the Parliamentary Party in Oireachtas Éireann for their invaluable contributions to making our participation in Government a success - our Deputy Leader, Mary White, Ciarán Cuffe TD and Paul Gogarty TD, as well as our Senators Dan Boyle and Deirdre de Búrca. We form a very tight and disciplined unit based on collegiality. I would also like to thank our Councillors from around the country, who know better than most what the Green Party is achieving in Government. They know we have succeeded in getting more investment in water treatment plants, in sewage treatment plants, in preserving our green spaces through more special areas of conservation, special protection areas, special amenity orders, more investment in recycling facilities and the roll-out of brown bins for biodegradable waste. Our Councillors know that we have succeeded in getting a massive 43% increase in the budget for the Environmental Protection Agency and a 37% increase for the National Parks and Wildlife Service, which will result in better enforcement of environmental legislation. They have seen the success and they know it's good for the country that the Greens are in Government.
Our Councillors and local election candidates understand the importance of real local government. One of our founding principles states clearly that decision making should take place at the lowest effective level. Yet over the last number of years in this country, we have seen decision making powers shift to the centre; we have witnessed the disempowerment of local councillors and local communities. How many times have we heard people at public meetings complain about the lack of local democracy and about the failure to listen to their voices? With the Green Party in Government, this trend towards centralisation will cease. Our vision of local government will become a reality. The forthcoming publication of the Green Paper on Local Government Reform will start a process which will lead to the election of a mayor, with real powers, for the Dublin region in 2011. This will be followed with the election of mayors in other parts of the country. It represents the biggest advance in local government reform in the history of this state and it is happening because we are turning vision into action in Government.
But there are so many other areas where our presence in Government is having a positive influence on Government policy. Our Programme for Government recognises the huge contribution to society made by our senior citizens over many years. They deserve our support and that is why we honoured our commitment to increase the old age pension. Next week my Department will approve €15m for local councils to improve public access for people with disabilities. We also ensured that the Programme for Government commitment to recognise the 12 existing ABA schools. In Government, we are using our position to improve the lives of children with autism and the lives of their dedicated parents.
It is also clear that ever since the Green Party's participation in Government, there has been a distinct change in the attitude to the problem of alcohol in our society. I said it in opposition and I repeat it as a Government minister, it is time to deal comprehensively with a problem that has left so much tragedy in its wake. We will use our influence to ensure that the necessary measures are introduced to tackle the alcohol problem. Alcohol has contributed significantly to our health problems and progress in reforming our health service has been slow. The health section of the Programme for Government contains a clear commitment negotiated by this Party to improve the access of public patients to our health system. Access to health can never become a commodity, we expect to see tangible improvements in access for public patients at the end of our five years in Government. Delivering health care begins at an early age and that is why we in the Green Party are so pleased that Minister Eamon Ryan has today indicated his intention to introduce legislation to for a code curbing advertising of junk food to children.
Europe
Much of the legislation which we use has its origins in EU Directives. We are very proud to be a pro-European Party, working closely with our counterparts in the European Greens. There are now Green Ministers in Finland, the Czech Republic, Latvia and Italy.
This evening I would like to extend a very warm welcome to the Czech Minister for Education, Ondrej Liska. Ondrej is one of the youngest Ministers in Europe and an inspiration to all young greens and to all young people interested in politics.
Mar is eol daoibh go léir, is teanga oiifigiuil í an Ghaeilge san Eoraip anois. Dá bharr sin, is minic a bhíonn deis agam labhairt as Gaeilge sa Bhruiséal agus támuid bródúil as an méid sin.
Tá muidne sa Chómhaontas Glas go láidir ar son polasaí an dá-theangachais. Sa rialtos ta muid ag cur an fís seo i bhfeidhm.
The Irish Green Party is not just a European party, it is also an all-island party. I am delighted therefore to welcome Brian Wilson, Member of the Northern Assembly, and our Northern colleagues here this evening. I have no doubt that Brian will be joined by others in Stormont after the next elections. The Good Friday Agreement - 10 years old this weekend - has established the Stormont Assembley and now allows us to move beyond sectarian politics.
Respect for human rights must extend to all cultures and countries. One country which has been exploited and suppressed and suffered for far too long is Tibet. We have always enjoyed good relations with the Chinese people, but we condemn this abuse of human rights and we call on the Chinese government to enter dialogue with the Dalai Lama.
It is our dedication to human rights, social justice and ecological sustainability which has motivated this Party since its foundation. It is this dedication which has also motivated our insistence on high standards in public life. Unlike other parties, the Green Party has taken a principled position, perhaps to our own disadvantage, to refuse donations from big business. We have always said that we would look after our political morality. It has been said that when we were faced with the choice between looking after other parties' ethics and saving the planet, we took the easier option and decided to save the planet. And, rightly so - and we make no apologies.
Our position since entering Government on standards in public life has not changed one iota. The Green Party has consistently expressed full confidence in the Mahon Tribunal and expressed the hope that it will reach its conclusions quickly. And it is our fervent hope that all of the tribunals of inquiry will root out forensically every last morsel of corruption from Irish political life.
Conclusion
We are entering more uncertain times. At several points during our country's history, we have faced major challenges and found the vision to change. When our economy was on its knees in the 1950s, TK Whittaker and others had the vision to modernise and open our markets. In the 1980s, faced with a crippling national debt, the opposition and Government worked together to help lay the foundations for a new prosperity. Over the last decade, we showed the world what an enthusiastic, educated and entrepreneurial country could achieve. Our nation, more used to emigration, has welcomed many thousands of hard-working immigrants to our shores. But there are major new challenges ahead of us and these are made more urgent by the tightened global economy. I am certain that in this Party, and in this Government and across the rest of this island, there are people who share my love of this country and who share my strong desire to change it for the better. We now have the chance to face the challenges of this millennium together.
And yet this crisis offers our country enormous opportunities as we move to a low carbon society. In the past ten months we have shown that we are a Party of discipline, of competence, of innovation, a Party that has the necessary skill to deal with the most pressing issues that humanity now faces.
The three green ministers are working from early morning until late at night, squeezing every minute out of every day for the betterment of our country. We are so aware of the privilege we have been given and of the weight of responsibility and expectation on our shoulders.
There are times when we may fall short and we ask for your understanding. But I believe that so far our tenure has been a success story.
We have a list of achievements to our name and that list will continue to grow as long as we are in Government. We have a very good story to tell, so leave this Conference tomorrow refreshed and re-energised. Be ready to tell our story. Be ready to put our ideas - our vision - into action. And be ready to build a better Ireland for present and future generations.
Thank you.
