Mary Robinson critical of lack of funding for Mayo climate action plan

Former President Mayo Robinson has praised Mayo County Council for the quality of its Climate Action Plan 2024-2029.

But she is critical of the fact that its implementation is not being funded by the government.

"What Mayo County Council produced as a plan for 2024 to 2029 looks great except it is not funded and I am sure every local authority has the same issue."

Speaking in An Seanad, she suggested that Ireland returns to to the spirit that was there in 1990 of local self-development "to change from what we are doing now to what it will take to get to that 51% by 2030."

She continued "One of the experts said at a recent conference in Ballina - and I think this is true - that we are a very social people.

"We can actually mingle very well with each other and collaborate very well. Sometimes we do not but, by and large, we have the capacity to do so.

"I literally saw that when I was running for election in 1990. I saw the way groups were changing things to get facilities for young people, sports, the elderly and people with disabilities. Now we need to change to a positive narrative.

"Let us have a look at what that narrative is because it is true.

"We are on the cusp of a clean-energy, healthier, safer, cleaner and fairer world. We are on the cusp of that.

"Millions of us around the world in different ways are moving towards it but we are not moving fast enough.

"One of the big impediments to moving fast enough is what we call the "fossil fuel lobby".

"The fossil fuel lobby gets subsidies to continue to provide a fuel that is harming the world, whether it is coal, oil or gas. In this country it was turf - or peat - and we are getting out of that now."