May 23rd, 2019
Nineteen candidates are vying for the four available MEP seats in the Dublin constituency following a period of campaigning, public debates and TV appearances.
Our Kayle Crosson gives her guide to where they stand on some of the key environmental and climate change issues in Ireland.
Sinn Fein – Lynn Boylan
Lynn Boylan is running to hold onto her current European
Parliament seat and has previously worked as both an ecologist and activist.
She has been a full member of the Parliament’s Environment
Committee for the past five years and a negotiator on the EU Single Use Plastic
Directive.
Boylan has repeatedly stated her opposition to a carbon tax,
and said on Claire Byrne Live that “they don’t work” anywhere they have been
tried elsewhere in the world.
In a recent piece for An Phoblacht, Boylan elaborated on her
position, stating that a carbon tax discriminates against less well-off
households, people living in rural areas and the “peripheries and people less
access to resources”.
“It allows the rich to use their privilege to ‘change their
behaviour’ and punishes ordinary people,” she added.
Boylan told TheJournal.ie that she wants to introduce
deposit return schemes and increase renewables on the electricity grid up to 80
per cent by 2030.
Boylan is also a signatory to the Not Here Not Anywhere Fossil Free Election Pledge, opposes GMOs and said at the Environmental Pillar hustings that she supports a tax on aviation.
Independents4Change –
Clare Daly
Dublin North TD Clare Daly is also vying for a Dublin MEP
seat on behalf of Independents4Change and has signed the Not Here Not Anywhere
Fossil Free Election Pledge.
Daly told TheJournal.ie that a carbon tax that involves “slapping
an extra €2 on a bale of briquettes” is unlikely to work in changing behaviour
and that more radical action is needed.
She added that a carbon tax that loads all the cost on the
“end-user” is “deeply-regressive”. She added: “I’m fully in favour of carbon
taxes, but they have to be targeted in the right way.”
During a recent Claire Byrne Live debate, Daly expressed her
support for an aviation fuel tax.
At the Environmental Pillars hustings, Daly relayed her Dail
record saying that she was “a fierce critic” of the much-maligned Climate
Change and Low-Carbon Development Bill, was “vehemently opposed to the Heritage
Bill” and put down amendments to ban off-shore fracking.
She also later said that she would push for greater enforcement of EU Directives in place to protect wildlife, habitats and the environment more generally.
Green Party – Ciaran
Cuffe
If elected, Dublin City Councillor Cuffe, amongst other
pledges, wants to seek European Green Capital designation for Dublin and bring
Dublin City Council homes from a D to an A energy rating so “that our tenants
aren’t trapped in fuel poverty.”
Cuffe, a former TD and Junior Minister, co-chaired the
committee that set up the Climate Change Action Plan 2019 – 2024 for Dublin
City Council.
He also signed the Not Here Not Anywhere Fossil Free
Election Pledge and expressed his support for an aviation tax at the
Environmental Pillar hustings.
Cuffe strongly advocates for investment in public transport,
calling for 2:1 spending on public transport, walking and cycling infrastructure
over road building.
On Claire Byrne Live, he also said that he would like to see
the introduction of free public transport, starting with children. “I’d move
onto reduced fairs, and eventually, make it free,” for all, he said.
Additionally, Cuffe said at the Environmental Pillar
hustings that “market forces, as well as the state”, are needed in addressing
climate change.
During the discussion, he also proposed allowing for the
sale of surplus electricity generated by homes, business and farms back to the
grid.
Speaking to TheJournal.ie, Cuffe expressed support for a carbon levy, but that it has to be coupled with “a carbon dividend” paid back to all households.
Labour – Alex White
Investment in public transport, incentivizing retrofitting,
and building on the single-use plastics directives are all key cornerstones in
White’s proposed policy positions.
The former Minister for Energy and Natural Resources describes
himself as a “strong advocate for renewable energy and energy efficiency” and
has signed the Not Here Not Anywhere Fossil Free Election Pledge.
During his time as Minister, White wrote the White Paper for
Ireland’s Transition to a Low Carbon Energy Future 2015 – 2030.
While speaking on Claire Byrne Live, White was reminded of
his previous support for the Corrib gas field and in response said, “but only
in this context: we’re in a transition.”
During the Environmental Pillar hustings, White disagreed
with other candidates on the role of capitalism in climate change, saying, “I
don’t agree with anyone who thinks that we cannot confront climate change
unless we overthrow capitalism.”
In relation to a carbon tax, White told TheJournal.ie that any increase in carbon tax should adhere to the polluter pays principle and ensure that major producers of carbon and other greenhouse gases are liable.
Independent –
Alice-Mary Higgins
Senator Alice Mary Higgins is contesting for the European
elections as an Independent candidate.
Higgins has repeatedly stated that we are currently fighting
the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity, and said at the
Environmental Pillar hustings: “they’re linked and they need joint action, and
the way we treat each has to compliment.”
When asked by TheJournal.ie on her position on a carbon tax,
Higgins said, “Recognizing the brutal impacts of climate change means putting a
higher price on carbon and redirecting any money gathered into mitigation,
adaptation, and supports to vulnerable groups.”
As a signatory to the Not Here Not Anywhere Fossil Free
Election Pledge, Higgins is opposed to oil exploration licences.
Speaking to TheJournal.ie, she also expressed her opposition
to the building of Liquified Natural Gas terminals.
During the Claire Byrne Live debate, Higgins referred to a vote she cast in favour of a 2:1 spend on public transport and during the Environmental Pillar hustings reiterated her opposition to the controversial Heritage Bill and support for stronger enforcement on environmental issues.
Fine Gael – Frances
Fitzgerald and Mark Durkan
Two Fine Gael candidates are in the running, both with
seasoned political backgrounds.
Former Tanaiste and Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald
is currently on track to win the largest share of votes with 22 per cent,
according to the latest Irish Times/Ipsos MRBI opinion poll.
Fitzgerald has expressed her support for a “just transition
of meeting our climate changes targets” for Dublin, and on Claire Byrne Live,
stressed that dealing with climate change effectively is about partnership,
which includes, “working with business”.
On the weekly political broadcast, Fitzgerald also defended
the government’s granting of oil exploration licences, finding that the
alternative of imported gas from Russia was “not very climate friendly.”
In relation to a carbon tax, Fitzgerald told the
TheJournal.ie recently that there is “potential” in increasing carbon tax, but
that it would have to work alongside other political measures.
For those who are unable to pay, who are displaced, she
continues, or may, “lose their job due to shifts in the way our societies
operate as a consequence of climate change”, a Just Transition Fund should be
in place.
Mark Durkan, the former leader of Northern Ireland’s SDLP,
and former Westminster MP, said at the recent Environmental Pillar hustings
that he has been involved in a number of environmental party groups.
“We need to make sure in the next European Parliament that
action on climate change and the nature crisis is an absolute driving priority
in all that we do,” Durkan said in his opening statement at the environmental
debate.
Durkan recognized the existence of a climate and “nature
crisis” at the event, and added that, “a lot of what we’ve said about targets
is going to have to be revised and supplemented on that basis.”
Addressing the issue of a carbon tax, he told TheJournal.ie
that he agrees with the principle of it and said: “we need a carbon tax regime
that doesn’t just tax the consumer but obviously it’s a proper carbon tax levy
at the different stages of economic behaviour.”
Durkan says that he is also opposed to fracking, and that he will strongly support the implementation of new European laws on single use plastics and advocate for policy linked into the Sustainable Development Goals.
Fianna Fail – Barry
Andrews
The former Dun Laoighaire TD and Minister of State has said
that “the threat of climate change towers over all other issues” and that the
absence of sectoral targets in the Government’s National Mitigation Plan is a
“critical failing” that ensures there is little chance of Ireland meeting its
climate obligations.
Speaking at the RTE Claire Byrne Live debate this week, he
expressed his support for the proposed second runway at Dublin airport as “we’re
a small global trading economy and we need access to a second runway”.
On carbon tax, Andrews told the TheJournal.ie that Fianna
Fail supported a “comprehensive suite of measures on climate change” which includes
an increase in carbon tax. On his candidate website, he also says he will
campaign for “an increase in carbon tax to 2030 rising to €80 per tonne”.
On his website, he also states that he will campaign for investment in home retrofitting, electrification of Dublin’s public transport system using green energy, and cycling for all campaign.
Social Democrats –
Gary Gannon
Gannon said during the Environmental Pillar hustings that
“the manner in which we’re importing food into supermarkets” is threatening
small-based farmers and is “simply not sustainable moving forward.”
He also later said that the reaction to climate change has
to “be about investment in public services” and “confronting the small minority
of people who’ve benefitted substantially from impact upon on our environment.”
Gannon has also signed onto the Not Here Not Anywhere Fossil
Free Election Pledge.
During the Claire Byrne Live debate, Gannon also found that
there was a “huge opportunity” in ocean-generated energy.
On carbon tax, Gannon told TheJournal.ie that a carbon tax
has a “role to play in a transition to a low-carbon, energy efficient economy”.
“However, we need to be clear that any carbon tax must be progressive, and not an undue burden on those in poverty or at risk of poverty,” he added.
Worker’s Party –
Eilis Ryan
The Worker’s Party Eilis Ryan will also be contesting for a
Dublin MEP seat, and she currently sits on Dublin City Council.
Central to fighting climate change, Eilis argued during the
Environmental Pillar hustings, is the state playing, “a much bigger role in our
economy than it currently does” and finds that “capitalism is destroying the
planet”.
Ryan wants to see Europe-wide regulations that would outlaw
the use of non-recyclable packing materials.
She is also signed onto the Not Here Not Anywhere Fossil
Free Election Pledge and is opposed to increases in carbon tax.
She has also expressed her support for an aviation tax on the grounds that “people at the top pay more”.
People Before Profit
– Gillian Brien
Brien supports her party’s Climate Emergency Measures Bill to
limit the issuing of new licences for the exploration and extraction of fossil
fuels.
During the Environmental Pillar hustings, Brien expressed
her support of an aviation tax, sustainable food production and a pesticides
ban.
Brien has also signed onto Not Here Not Anywhere’s Fossil
Free Election Pledge.
Solidarity – Rita
Harrold
Socialist feminist candidate Rita Harrold is seeking the
Dublin MEP seat on behalf of the Solidarity Party.
Harrold is opposed to a carbon tax, saying on Claire Byrne
Live that a carbon tax is “is completely unrealistic” and told TheJournal.ie
that such a tax would “place the burden onto the backs of working people.”
She has signed the Not Here Not Anywhere Fossil Free
Election pledge and supports a rapid just transition to a zero carbon economy.
Speaking to TheJournal.ie, Harrold also said that “we need
massive public investment in wind, wave and renewable energy. Public transport
should be expanded and made free of charge for all.”
Remaining Candidates
Independent Aisling McNiffe has signed the Not Here Not
Anywhere Fossil Free Election Pledge.
Herman Kelly of the Irish Freedom Party says he is committed
to working for a “greener Ireland” and opposes the implementation of a carbon
tax.
The remaining independent candidates – Eamonn Murphy, Gemma O’Doherty, Ben Gilroy, Mark Mullan, and Tony Bosco Lowth – do not appear to have laid out definitive climate policies.
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