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Ireland's political and cultural magazine
— village November - December
Green Government
late Seamus Brennan, the
Greens in government were finally playing senior
football. According to recent articles in Village
they were two goals down at half-time. So how
are they doing now?
Long after the economic flux is forgotten what
the Greens, who purport to know its significance,
do for their core agenda, the environment, will
be remembered. Certainly they received some
concessions on education - though earlier cuts
dwarf the concessions - and Dail reform, and
the likes of a commitment to hold a referendum
to reform the anomalous current constitutional
recognition of women’s “special place within the
home”. They have not obtained much for ethics in
government nor anything more for the Equality
Authority they hold so dear. For the environment
they have achieved little enough: more targets
for climate change, nothing for planning (during
this government), more waffle on Special Areas
of Conservation. Éamon Ryan emerged from the
Green convention to announce to the RTÉ tel-
evision news that planning had been reformed
by regionalisation and John Gormley claimed
there was a massive shift away from roads to
public transport. It was nonsense but no-one
even noticed.
climate change
The Greens always said that climate change
was so important that ethically it justified their
entry into government, even if they had to com-
promise on other issues – like Bertie Ahern’s
ethical disposition. The first programme for
government with FF provided for average
three percent annual reductions in emissions
but extraordinarily, despite economic hari kiri
– which let us be clear is nearly always accom-
panied by proportionate reductions in emis-
sions as activity falls – emissions have fallen
by significantly less than might be expected.
The Environmental Protection Agency’s fig-
ures showed emissions decreased in by
one per cent. That is two per cent less than the
Greens promised as an annual average.
The Greens have obtained a commitment to
the introduction of a carbon tax by the end of the
year. But as long ago as Fianna Fail prom-
ised they would introduce one in ! And the
tax should be revenue neutral i.e. it should ide-
ally be accompanied by a commensurate reduc-
tion in income tax. In fact it will not be and the
auguries are that the tax will be at too low a rate
to make a significant difference.
The new programme provides for a Climate
Act. But it states only that % annual reduc-
tions shall be a target. They have been a tar-
get since this government came to office - but
one it missed. There is absolutely no reason to
think it will not continue to miss it. The Greens
seem incapable of legislating definitively for the
reductions. There is no evidence the Greens are
doing anything but going through the motions
on carbon emissions with the ineffectual “car-
bon budget” and other nugatory processes. They
bottled mandated statutory targets for the one
policy they once touted as overriding.
It is clear that Greens are too weak to com-
municate the tough message about lifestyle
changes they have so far avoided. In particu-
lar we need to reduce the CO emissions associ-
ated with our ag riculture – much of it in flatulent
cattle - which constitute % of national emis-
sions and our dependence on private transport,
particularly cars.
The Green party has left a lot
to rhetoric and the unspecified
long-term, though – for the
first time - there are substantial
environmental achievements
m i c h a e l s m i t h
the environment is important
village_oct_09.indd 36 27/10/2009 15:38:40
transport
Transport accounts for .% of total national
greenhouse gas emissions, with road trans-
port accounting for an estimated % of them.
John Gormley informed viewers of the Week in
Politics that the one third public to two thirds
private transport ratio was to be precisely
inverted under the Programme. Yet, while
this sounds plausible to those whose interest is
vague, it will only happen in the last year of the
government and is clearly susceptible to being
overturned a year later by an incoming admin-
istration. There is still every possibility that a
proper overhaul of the bus networks, getting
the and minute frequencies that have been
promised for years in Dublin, and Metro North
will all be delayed or scuppered, while the roads
programme continues unabated. There are no
substantive changes in the €bn of roads
that are being built under the Programme for
Government, although it is encouraging that
the Eastern Bypass under Sandymount has
finally been (again!) abandoned.
Furthermore he Greens should have sought
the permanent scrapping of the new €m
runway for Dublin airport. Instead we have
a bald antithetical commitment to airport
connect ivity.
planning
The Greens notably failed to obtain plan-
ning targets. They should shift the figures for
one-off housing around the country and for
development in Meath, Wicklow and Kildare
towards development in towns and villages
and in cities outside Dublin. It is the fig-
ures that matter not the generation of minor,
heated controversies in particular counties
that so please woolly-minded commentators.
In this respect recent figures on one-off hous-
ing suggest a reduction, though it is unclear if
that is an aberration. The Greens have flunked
the opportunity to establish a land-use com-
mission, packed with worthies, that guar-
antees development complies with official
policy like the spatial strategy and regional
guidelines – which are currently flouted.
Only later versions of the new programme
for government – perhaps there was a danger
FF backbenchers might actually read the ear-
lier versions - provide, in theory anyway, for
progress on strategic regional government:
the government “will start on a far reaching
reform of local government in Ireland which
will strengthen the strategic role and function
of regional authorities in planning, trans-
port, water and waste management. …” But
weirdly, “The implementation of this reform
will not be possible within the lifetime of this
Government”. The policy is to make planning
strategic, but not yet. The planning bill that
John Gormley is currently shepherding pro-
vides that local authority development plans
must comply with other plans that are higher
up the planning hierarchy but – as ALWAYS –
no mechanism applies if the authorities flout
the so-called “obligation”. As FF who intro-
duced analogous guidelines many times over
the years knew well, they will be bypassed.
The shock is that the Greens have learnt noth-
ing from this.
the kenny report
The original programme for government prom-
ises that “Legislation will be brought forward
on foot of the recommendations of the All-Party
Committee on the Constitution on Property
Rights” which in part promoted the
“Kenny Report”. The most important of the
Kenny Report recommendations was that land
required for development purposes by local
authorities should be compulsorily acquired at
existing use values [i.e. with no allowance for
any speculative value]. But this will not happen
now. Hilariously, the new programme omits any
reference to this issue. The Greens have clearly
taken their eye off this most important ball.
They have, however – albeit outside the terms of
the programme for government - obtained the
second principal Kenny recommendation. The
Greens have insisted that Brian Lenihan tack
on a clause to the NAMA legislation providing
for an % windfall tax on rezoning specula-
tors. This is indeed a substantial achievement.
If properly implemented it may disincentivise
speculation and lead developers to buy in to a
plan-based, rather than a developer-based sys-
tem of planning and development. That would
raise quality and reduce prices.
ethics in government
legislation
The Greens had no ethics policies in their elec-
tion manifesto and the first programme for
government was mute. The new programme
provides for elimination of corporate dona-
tions, the reform of unvouched expenses for
TDs and Senators and a “review” of Freedom of
Information fees.
It is not enough for the Greens to eliminate “cor-
porate donations”, when large donations from
private individuals are precisely as problematic.
They should have insisted on whistleblower leg-
islation; a commitment to transparent appoint-
ments; a requirement that political parties
publish audited accounts for expenditure other
than that received from the State or for pri-
vate donations over €,; the introduction
of a Register of Lobbyists; the establishment
of a Garda Anti-Corruption Unit; and more
resources for law enforcement agencies includ-
ing the Director of Corporate Enforcement, the
Competition Authority, the Criminal Assets
Bureau, and the Garda “Fraud Squad”. These
issues are all highlighted, for example, by
Transparency International in its National
Integrity Study.
The Greens are very lucky that major com-
mentators are typically significantly less green
than the Greens - and so give them the unwar-
ranted benefit of the doubt. Veteran Irish
Independent political journalist, Sam Smyth,
recently told Vincent Browne on the Tonight
Show that he admired the Greens’ achievements
on planning. It has become a mantra for public
figures to express such sentiments. It reflects the
chasm between rhetoric and any feeling or desire
to implement best practice on those great Irish
funkables, the environment and planning.
It is still two down, FF have many more
players, the Greens are focused on passing not
scoring goals, and the crowd is angry. Most
importantly, however, for the Greens as they get
used to power, is that it is not a game.
“The Greens have insisted that Brian
Lenihan tack on a clause to the NAMA
legislation providing for an 80% windfall
tax on rezoning speculators”
village_oct_09.indd 37 27/10/2009 15:38:40
