NATIONAL

I was honoured to be elected to the Dáil (the Irish Parliament) for the first time in 2002 by the constituents of Dublin South – Just one electoral story in what was a significant Green Party breakthrough when six of our TDs were elected.

During that 29th Dáil I served as Party Spokesperson for Transport, Enterprise, Trade and Employment and Communications, Marine and Natural Resources.

I was re-elected in 2007 for the same constituency and was appointed Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources within the coalition government formed by the Green Party and Fianna Fail – the first time the Greens had voted to go into Government. Two of my priorities were to build up renewable energy capacity and increase retrofitting in our buildings. During my time in office, installed wind capacity in Ireland doubled, and by 2010 the average daily energy from sources was up to 17%, peaking at 42%. In Communications, I set up the National Broadband Scheme, launched the Broadband for Schools Scheme and initiated the Eircodes which are now an everyday part of our lives today. I also put in place the country’s first EV charge-point initiative.

I was not elected in the 2011 General Election which saw a wipe-out for the Greens in the Oireachtas in general. However, as the newly elected leader of the Green Party leader I could set about the job, with my green colleagues, of rebuilding the party and developing a strategy that would see us rebound.

I returned to Dáil Eireann in 2016, this time from the Dublin Bay South constituency, along with my colleague Catherine Martin TD., returned for Dun Laoghaire Rathdown The local elections of 2019 showed real evidence of a new Green tide when 48 local Green councillors were elected, the largest number ever. In the General Election of 2020, the tide continued and the Green Party had our biggest result ever with 12 elected TDs from across the country. These are joined now in the Oireachtas by three Senators, along with our two MEPs. The party members made the decision to go into Government with coalition parties Fine Gael and Fianna Fail in June 2020.

Since 2020

As part of this 31st Dáil, I have served as Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications and Minister for Transport since 2020 – putting my work right at the heart of Ireland’s climate transformation.

The past three years have been frenetic, with new announcements and initiatives being launched every week, in energy, climate, heat and transport. At all times, my aim is to ensure that people’s lives and livelihoods can be better and more secure, that communities can be nicer places to live and work from, that our public transport is greatly enhanced and that our roads are safer for people, and particularly children and young people.

Here are just 10 of my top-picks so far

  1. Seeing the landmark climate action legislation being passed in the Dáil by an overwhelming majority of 129 votes to 10 after a heated four-hour debate in April 2021.

  2. Announcing Ireland’s first transport fare cut in 75 years and making public transport 20% cheaper for all adults and 50% for young people under the age of 24 in Budget 2023. We extended that this year so now 24 and 25 year olds can travel for half price too.

  3. Seeing the country’s first Climate Action Plan being finalised and tracked. We produced our second last year and this years’ update is almost finished.

  4. Launching Europe’s most ambitious and generously funded retrofitting scheme in March 2022 – all funded by the carbon tax.

  5. Standing in the courtyard of Government Buildings on a balmy July evening in 2022 to announce that we had come to an historic agreement – again after weeks of discussion and debate - on setting targets for our main economic and social sectors.

  6. Issuing Maritime Area Consents (MACs) for seven offshore wind projects, initiating Phase One of delivery for Ireland’s offshore ambitions in late 2022.

  7. Making history with the country’s first off-shore wind auction in May 2023, delivering 3GW of capacity at a competitive price for consumers.

  8. Moving forward with the country’s first “public transport mega-project” with the launch of Metrolink in July 2022, a fully segregated railway, most of which will be underground, running from north of Swords, through Dublin Airport and on to Charlemont in Dublin Bay South.

  9. Connecting Ireland – the programme that is transforming bus transport across the country. In less than two years, we will deliver 105 new or enhanced bus services – that’s one a week, connecting towns and communities everywhere.

  10. Spending €1 million a day on walking and cycling, making our suburbs and towns safer for people and children.