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As members of the Green Party, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil debate the merits of the new programme for government, the leaders of the Greens arguably have the toughest task getting the deal over the line, with two-thirds of the party’s membership needed to carry the proposal.
As the battle for the hearts and minds of the Irish green movement begins, we invited two representatives with opposing views to state their case. RISE TD for Dublin South-West, Paul Murphy has written a letter to Green Party members asking them to reject the deal, while here, Green MEP Ciarán Cuffe says this is an armistice moment that must be grasped:
WHAT CAN YOU actually achieve in politics? For an ideologically-driven party like the Greens, it is a question we consider every day. Sure, we all want to save the planet, and bring about a just transition, but what changes can you actually achieve within the constraints of Government? Opposition is easy, but Government is tough, particularly for smaller parties like ourselves.
Every vote, every amendment, and every decision is a series of compromises. The draft programme for government ‘Our Shared Future’ reflects those choices. However, from a Green party perspective, there is a lot to like.
A commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 51% over the coming decade would be a huge achievement, and although it still would not align with what climate science dictates, it would show the world what can be done. A commitment to retrofitting 500,000 homes to a B2 energy rating by 2030 would be extraordinary.
Timing is everything and with the arrival of Covid-19, it’s obvious now that these are not normal times. As the pandemic struck, the European Investment Bank announced that they would end financing for fossil fuel energy projects from the end of next year.
A new departure for a new normal
Some of the language in the draft programme is transformational: ending Direct Provision; providing cost rental housing; and spending €360m a year on walking and cycling. The adoption of these measures would be timely, but other measures such as the provision of free contraception for women aged 17-25, and ‘baby boxes’ to all new parents underscores the role of the state in taking care of its citizens.
A lesson from the Covid-19 crisis is that the State can and should assist its people in providing services that are needed. A focus on public health, public transport, and public housing is required as we move to a new normal dictated by these extraordinary times.
None of this will happen overnight. There are of course areas where we didn’t succeed in negotiations, but that is inevitable given the Green Party’s representation in the Dáil. There’s a lot of commitments to reviews rather than actions, but that can be the start of effecting change.
We are still in mid-crisis, and rebooting our economy within the health constraints of the pandemic will be hugely challenging. If our membership decides that we should enter Government (and the bar is set high at two-thirds support of our voting membership) there will be difficult calls to make in the coming months and years.
However, if we sit at the cabinet table we have a voice and take part in the decision-making process. I accept that if you’re in opposition you can provoke debate, and on occasion bring about change.
No time to ‘hurl from the ditch’
With interest rates the lowest in living memory, now is the time to borrow to invest in a low-carbon future. Bord na Móna announced on Tuesday that it will suspend peat harvesting activities and prioritise peat rehabilitation. Meanwhile, the EU has trebled its funding for a ‘Just Transition’ in coal and peat extraction regions. That means more green jobs.
This is an armistice moment that must be grasped. These opportunities happen at best once a decade. When the planet is burning, it is not a time to argue over the colour of the fire engine.
We can seize the opportunity of the European Green Deal, announced by the Commission last year. It lays out plans to make Europe the first carbon-neutral continent by 2050. We need to embrace this opportunity for low-carbon employment, or we can wait for a progressive political alliance that may never emerge.
As an MEP I can see that the language of politics is changing: the circular economy is now centre-stage; zero pollution and low-carbon solutions permeate our discussions, and the Sustainable Development Goals inform our debates.
There is a golden opportunity here to marry climate action with social justice, and while the text of the programme isn’t perfect, it allows us to take action on issues that we have campaigned on for years. There are commitments to more protection for renters; to enacting hate crime legislation; and a new National Action Plan Against Racism. Such measures can bring about a fairer Ireland.
There is an extraordinary opportunity to be seized now in 2020, where the Green Party can make real the ideas that we believe in, and take responsibility for changing the world. We should grasp this moment and enter government.
In the words of Barack Obama’s former Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel: “You never let a serious crisis go to waste. And what I mean by that is it’s an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before.”
Ciarán Cuffe is a Green Party MEP for Dublin. You can read the full programme for government here.
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Good luck with that France, you get better behaviour out my 4 year old…
Priti probably thinks a another hundred year war would be good, she thought of trying to starve the Irish…
@Cowboy Ted: French are no angels when it comes to colonial history and who caused these regional instabilities in the first place.
@Thomas O’ Donnell: maybe not but they had our back during the Brexit talks……
@Sean Higgins: “they had our back during the Brexit talks……”
Only because they love sticking it to the Brits.
@Will: Read a history book ffs. The French have been our allies for centuries. A lot of people duped into the anti French stuff by a steady diet of British media.
The Brits are right. A turnback policy would stop them overnight
@Nedwerd: it’s been a long time since the British were right.
@Nedwerd: but it should be deport (return) to their home nation and not a transit country. If these people are in the EU illegally (or legally) it is immaterial, normal deportatiom rules is back to country of origin. Same here if you need a visa to enter Ireland but come across the border from NI you get deported to your home country, not back to NI. Likewise if people need a visa to enter the UK and cross into NI they are not deported back south but sent to their home country. If Ireland were used as a back door to the UK would you think everyone entering the UK illegally should be sent back here.
@Nedwerd: Sure force them to make two hideously dangerous crossings in dingys that’ll cut the numbers down.
The people who take their money tell them the UK is where they need to be and put them in throw away boats are the problem.
Where do the traffickers find their victims and sell them passage ? That’s where this has to be stopped at the start not the end.
A decent internationally organised refugee rescue group should be set up to compete with the traffickers. Undercut the crooks and provide good transport and honest advice to the victims – just don’t look like the authorities they fear, look like a better deal and be one.
The criminals are making a huge profit doing a bad job, surely governments can manage a good job at a small loss. It would be a lot cheaper than this mess.
@Steve O’Hara-Smith: There are charities in North of France trying to help these people but are harassed and intimidated by French police and gangs
@Lamb: They’re in the wrong place. Everyone seems to be working (mostly at cross purposes and badly) on the symptoms instead of the problem. Like sticking plasters on someone rolling in broken glass without stopping them.
There is way too much finger pointing and way to little cooperation and joined up thinking going on.
France is just a conduit it’s not.surprising they don’t like it but arguing about what to do with the spurting hose doesn’t turn off the tap and that’s what’s needed.
@Niall Ó Cofaigh: deportation to home nation is a hard one. How would they prove what country they are originally from they carry no passport
@Niall Ó Cofaigh: Careful lad, you might get accused of talking sense
They took back their own borders so let them look after them. I’m sick and tired of their antics of abusing the good will, political intelligence and diplomatic procedures that the EU respect. Time to let their Brexit hit them and hit them hard.
@2thFairy: Ha the goodwill of the French . No such thing France does what it wants when it wants . Funny how they impound a Scottish trawler but stand by when the migrants are launching their rubber dingy
@2thFairy: Channel crossings went from about 1200 people in 2019 to 25000 in 2021. Go Brexit!!
@Lamb: They also went from dingys to 50 person zodiacs. That takes professional organisation.
I’d like to know if the trips sold to the refugees are end to end or just across the channel. If it’s the former then the channel crissing is the wrong place to look for fixes.
This is what Boris meant by taking back control, lol.
Angleterre Perfide
@Handsome McWonderful: All countries lie it’s called diplomacy and it stinks.
I don’t understand why France feel the need to support or take any responsibility to help the UK with their immigration problem. Britain’s immigration issue is France’s relief valve.
Britain is an outlier of Europe. They voted for Brexit so they could enforce their own immigration rules. The EU has its own immigration problem so why take on Britain’s problems too ?
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