Danny Healy-Rae Slams Carbon Bill as 'Totally Undemocratic'
Danny Healy-Rae spoke in the Dáil on 16 June 2021 to oppose a bill that would allow a minister to impose a carbon budget without a Dáil vote. He argued the measure is undemocratic and warned it would harm workers, job creators, farmers and the elderly.
Main criticisms of the bill
The deputy said the bill is totally undemocratic because it would give a minister the right to push through a carbon budget without a vote in Dáil Éireann. He said the measure would hit hardest those who get up early to go to work and the people who create jobs and employ others.
Farmers and carbon sequestration
The deputy argued the bill gives no recognition to what farmers can do on carbon sequestration. He contrasted the approach with practices in France, saying farmers there are allowed to sell gas created from animals, a source of income he said is not being acknowledged here.
Concerns for the elderly, fuel and turf
He warned elderly people could 'perish with the cold' if briquettes from Germany are not available and if turf cutting is curtailed, noting many do not have the means or funding to insulate their homes. He said the bill offers no practical support for those vulnerable to fuel poverty.
Rural transport and infrastructure criticism
The deputy criticised suggestions to restrict road-building and prioritise public transport that he said is concentrated in Dublin and often runs empty. He described proposals that assume one or two cars per village as unrealistic, called the approach condescending to rural people, and named several figures he said were supporting policies that would drive rural communities around the country.
Parliamentary democracy and local impact
Throughout his remarks the deputy framed the debate as one about democratic accountability and the local effects of national climate measures. He appealed for recognition of rural realities, farming incomes and the needs of older citizens when framing carbon and transport policy.
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Thank you very much, Ceann Comhairle. Minister, this bill is totally undemocratic in that it gives you or any minister the right to push through a carbon budget without having a vote here in Dail Eireann. That's totally undemocratic. This bill is going to hurt the people who get up early in the morning and have to go to work. And the people who create jobs and employ people, it's going to hurt them hardest as well. It's going to hurt the farmers. You're giving no recognition to what farmers can do in relation to sequestration of carbon and what they're doing in France. They're being allowed to sell gas that's created from the animals and that would be income for farmers. But he don't want to do that or he don't want to mention that. He want to ensure that elderly people will perish with the cold because if they don't get briquettes from Germany and if they're not allowed to cut turf, many of them don't have the wherewithal to insulate their homes and the funding for the funding to do that. You don't want us to build roads. You're querying whether we should be allowed to build roads that you'll put public transport in place. You want the public transport here in Dublin. There's buses only around empty with one or two inside them. And at the same time, we can't get any public transport down the country. And at the same time, you're saying that one car or two cars will do it in every village, park it in the churchyard or somewhere. I mean, that's totally unrealistic. You're condescending. You're looking down on the rural people, suggesting that rules would be good for us. Come on man. And come on Michal M temat Voorhees and Leo Bratker and Espineke and Fido Fahl Patyts. He is supporting this man to drive Champcent Rural People into the around the country, that's what he was trying to do. Please, please. You
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