Ireland’s clean and
green environment is
key to our future
Address by Ciarán Cuffe TD for Dún Laoghaire
Green Party Convention, Cork 14th May 2005
(Check on Delivery)
Introduction
The
Greens mean business. We’re here because we have a vision. We’re here to
implement policies. We’re here because we want change. We’re here because
our country calls us. We’re here because our children need us. We’re here to
make a difference.
The
Green Party’s policies are environmentally, socially and economically
responsible.
We
believe in rights: social rights, environmental rights, justice rights and human
rights. We are here, and we’re prepared for the long haul.
Our Inspiration
For
many of us our journey began in the 1960’s.
Back then the architect and visionary Buckminster Fuller coined the
phrase “Spaceship Earth".
Soon afterwards we saw for the first time we saw images of the earth from space,
and realised that our planet is a delicate precious and beautiful home.
Thirty-five years ago the first Earth Day was held to mark the importance of
this planet that we call home.
In
1972 the United Nations held a Conference in Stockholm on the Human Environment.
It stated that we all have a solemn responsibility to protect and improve the
environment for present and future generations. That is still the case. The
natural resources of the earth, including the air, water, land, and people must
be safeguarded for the benefit of present and future generations through careful
planning or management. At a time when others tell us to speed up, buy more and
have it all we’re not ashamed to say slow down, think of the future, think
about our children. We're not ashamed to say plan carefully, and manage the
resources that we have.
The
1992 Rio Earth Summit, the 2000 Millennium Development Goals, and the 2002
Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development have marked the milestones
in our path towards a better world. The
pursuit of environmental, economic, and social justice continues to this day.
Over
thirty years ago my father travelled from Ireland to speak at that United
Nations Stockholm Conference. He spoke about a group of people that were being
marginalized by progress. He spoke about a group of people whose right were
being ignored. He spoke about a group of people whose needs were being neglected
in the rush towards a new Ireland. He spoke about the Travelling People.
Others spoke about housing, about poverty, about ecology.
People
knew about injustice thirty years ago. People were beginning to learn about the
environment. There may have been some excuses back then for Government to ignore
the needs of the marginalized in Irish Society. There may have been some reason
to plead lack of resources to address disadvantage. There may even have been a
lack of knowledge about the issues in certain quarters, but there are no excuses
today.
The
Russian Poet Yevgeny Yevteshenko said, “Our children
will not forgive us what we forgave”. In the Ireland of 2005 there must be no
excuse for complacency. In a time of unprecedented prosperity, if we do not
address inequality and if we do not address the needs of the less well off, we
do not deserve to be forgiven.
Today
There are many issues and
many groups whose needs are being ignored in the Ireland of 2005. There is a
need and an obligation for those of us who have benefited from our country’s
economic success to ensure that everyone benefits.
At a time when a Minister
for Equality holds views that inequality is a good thing there is a need for the
Green Party. At a time when a Minister for the Environment feels that progress
comes before Heritage there is a need for the Green Party. At a time when a
Minister for Justice deports school children in the dead of night there is need
for the Green Party. At a time when a Minister for Local Government refuses to
give our County Councils the rights and responsibilities that they deserve there
is a need for the Greens. At a time when a Minister for Law Reform refuses to
vindicate the rights of those with disabilities there is a need for a Green
Party.
Friends, this Government is
drunk on power. It is careening down the fast lane of the Naas dual carriageway
on the wrong side of the road. It’s time we took the keys of this Government.
Let’s sober them up and make them take the bus for a change. That will allow
them to feel the frustrations that ordinary people encounter in their everyday
lives. Let’s take the keys of this government and put the Greens in charge.
Ireland
is an exciting country and a dynamic one for many these days, but it could be so
much more. We have the resources; we have the knowledge to make it so much
better. If we can combine the confidence of the Boston model with the social
concern of the Berlin one we could build an amazing place for our children.
Allow
me to paint a picture of the kind of Ireland that might be possible if the Green
Party were in government over those twenty years.
Ireland 2025
Cork
might not quite be a People’s Republic by 2025 but it would be well on its way
to achieving this. The Local Government Act 2010 had devolved significant powers
to City and Councils, so that they were no longer dependent on Central
Government for resources.
The
Countryside was thriving. Government incentives for organic farming had led to
an increase in farm employment and consumers were prepared to pay premium prices
for Irish food, grown in farmland free of incinerators. Bord Bia proudly
proclaimed that Irish crops were GM free. Wind turbines turned lazily in the
breeze, in fields of sugar beet destined for the Ethanol factory in Carlow. The
sunlight sparkled on the hillside houses, reflecting off the solar panels near
the harbour where generations of families continued to make their living from
the sea. The new language school and software company gave new jobs to others in
the parish.
Villages
were also vibrant as the affordable housing scheme gave people the opportunity
to live within walking distance of the office, church and pub. The local shops
were busy now that the threat of out-of-town shopping malls had receded as part
of the Green Programme for Government.
Towns
were also bustling with life. The farmers market had now gone from weekly event
to a daily one, and had moved from the car park to the Market Square,
pedestrianised after the bypass opened in 2010. You could have a civilised
conversation on Shop Street, now that the traffic was gone and the sound of
laughter carried on the breeze from the nearby park. At night the lights glowed
from the apartments of those living over the shop. A group of teenagers headed
by, racing each other to the skate park. Later they would meet their pals at the
neighbourhood swimming pool.
The
cluster of start-up businesses around the town’s Resource Recycling Park had
led to a buzz of activity. In the corner of the café a group were meeting to
plan next year’s Festival of World Cultures.
Towns
such as this now had regular train services again, just as they had over a
century before. Heritage projects
around the country had led to a new appreciation of our history and culture, and
brought visitors and tourism from near and far.
The
Cities were also flourishing. The days of shoebox apartments were long over.
Dockland Quarters in Cork, Sligo and Dublin had won international awards. Large
sunlit apartments looked out over the water, and new parks gave lungs to the
city. The new medical centres dotted around our cities focussed on preventative
medicine, and catered for the needs of young and old.
The
rail corridor from Derry to Limerick brought tourism and jobs to the West of
Ireland. There were plans afoot to restore the Clifden Galway line.
Ireland’s
reputation once again shone at the United Nations, where our commitment to fair
trade and development aid brought plaudits from afar. All respected our
commitments to Human Rights.
Ireland 2005
Friends
we can realise this vision. Dreams must be rooted in reality, and politics
ensures that our thoughts are touch in with the people. There is no need to
reinvent wheel. The good ideas are
already out there. They are in this room.
Our
vision for transport would treble the funding to public transport. It
would build new rail lines, bypasses and modernise our roads. It would respect
our heritage and the landscape. It would build cycle paths and restore the
centres of our villages and towns to people, not cars. Parents pushing a buggy
down a country road would not have to leap for the ditch when a 4x4 car came
speeding around a corner.
Our
vision for housing would deliver more environmentally friendly and
socially sustainable homes. We would restore the provisions under Part V of the
Planning and Development Act 2000 so that we target for Social and Affordable
Housing would be realised. New homes should carry an A or B energy rating from
next year, rather then being put on the long finger. No local authority home
should be without central heating or hot running water.
Our
vision for planning will bring an end to urban sprawl. The countryside
will have housing for those connected to the land. Our towns will have higher
density mixed-use buildings. They will have walkable and bikeable neighbourhoods
with parks playgrounds and public transport within easy walking distance. A
green building rating system standard will apply to all new buildings.
Our
vision for heritage would protect the Hill of Tara and ensure that
respect was paid to our history, our culture and the legacy that we hold in
trust for future generations.
Our
vision for waste will make money from muck. Jobs from recycling will help
Ireland move towards the goal of a zero waste society.
Our
vision for local government will ensure that local authorities are put on
a firm financial footing and that County Councils are given the resources and
the funding they deserve.
Our
vision for human rights will ensure that those with disabilities will
have their rights vindicated, rather than being subject to the whim of
bureaucracy.
Our
vision for justice will target resources at communities in need and will
turn prisons in centres of rehabilitation and reform.
Our
vision for equality will achieve a work-live balance that supports
families and allows parents to spend more time with their children in their
formative years.
Our
vision for children would enshrine their rights in our Constitution and
ensure that the Childrens’ Act was fully implemented, instead of bringing in
Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBO’s) that will mark children for the rest of
their lives.
Conclusion
Friends,
we’re gathered here in Cork because we can build an alternative to the current
Government.
Ireland’s
clean and green image is an asset that is the key to our country’s success in
future years.
Our
agriculture, our tourism and our families’ futures will benefit from the
implementation of our Party’s policies. Everyone gathered here in this room
has a part to play in realising this vision.
All
of you can contribute to the greening of our land. The Greens mean business.
We’re going to bring about change.
ENDS
| 
CiaranCuffe.com,
or Text Ciaran on 087 265 2075.