The life of a politician involves knocking on lots of doors as you go house to house to set out your vision for your local community to the public.
Dogs yapping at windows, kids’ bikes abandoned in driveways, garden gnomes, EV charging cables, basketball hoops and little Marian shrines are among the many sights you notice as you do your rounds. All have their charm, part of the normal hustle and bustle of family life in Galway.
One sight that isn’t so welcome, however, is the sight of sandbags outside homes in many of our coastal areas, such as the Claddagh, Salthill or Bearna. These areas have always been prone to flooding, it’s true, but it’s clear that sandbags are a sight that will become all the more common as the impacts of climate change become ever more apparent in Ireland.
I sometimes feel “climate change” is too bland and scientific a term to illustrate the havoc that lies in store for us over the coming decades. In Ireland there can be a tendency to think as climate change as something that is happening in other parts of the world and in years to come. That’s not the case.
Last week, the Government was warned that the rate at which sea levels are rising in Europe is doubling, making coastal cities such as Galway
more vulnerable to storm surges and extreme waves.
The warming atmosphere means that the air in Ireland holds more moisture than before, which in turn leads to more sudden bursts of intense rainfall. That in turn leads to increased flooding and waterlogged fields.
Met Éireann’s reporting bears this out. Ireland recorded its wettest March ever last year followed shortly after by its wettest July. The trend continued into this year with some months recording rainfall at twice the normal level. In truth, a more accurate term than the innocuous sounding “climate change” would be “weather chaos”. The sandbag, it seems, could be here to stay, even in inland regions as rivers burst their banks more regularly.
Presented with such grim evidence that the world’s weather is growing out of control, it’s understandable that many of us might be tempted to crawl back under our duvets. What’s not forgivable is when the people we elect to lead us do so.
Several of the European election candidates in the Midlands-North-West constituency have opted for what I’ve dubbed the “ostrich” approach to climate change. This involves either pretending climate change isn’t happening or lashing out at anyone who says that it is. One prominent candidate has even accused environmentalists of being “hell-bent on destroying farmers”.
I’ve news for the ostriches, climate change is happening whether you like it or not. Everyone will have to play a part in tackling climate change, from energy companies to cement factories and from taxi drivers to foresters.
Telling any one group in society that it’s not fair and that they shouldn’t have to make changes isn’t a solution – it’s just delaying the inevitable will make the eventual task all the more difficult. If your house is on fire, there’s little point complaining about it, you need to go grab a hose.
What good political leadership involves is coming up with solutions and implementing them. The best solutions are the ones that I’ve tried to champion since being elected to Seanad Éireann, solutions that don’t just help reduce our emissions but increase our quality of life and cut our costs at the same time.
Better public transport and lower fares cuts our emissions, certainly. But it also reduces gridlock and air pollution and means people are less dependent on cars to get around. Not everyone wants to drive a car after all – some are too young or too old, some are a little nervous behind the wheel, while some could simply do without the expense.
Our National Retrofitting Plan is another example. It offers homeowners grants of about 40% towards the cost of making their home more energy efficient through the use of insulation and our other measures. Not only does it result in lower fuel bills, but it makes your home more comfortable, boosts its resale value and qualifies you for lower mortgage rates. And all while reducing our emissions and fighting climate change.
One final example is solar panels. In recent years, I introduced a bill to scrap the requirement for planning permission to erect solar panels on residential homes. It took two years of begging, pleading and cajoling Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil ministers for them to eventually sign the order to get rid of the requirement. Since then, the numbers putting up solar panels has taken off, with 100 homes a day harnessing the sun to power their homes with cheap, clean energy. Since then, the Green Party has also cut VAT on solar panels to make them more affordable for everyone.
Climate change may be daunting but with the right leadership we can face it head on, while building a better Ireland in the process. So ignore the ostrich politicians, and back someone who’s up for tackling the challenge head on!