Ireland is going 'too far and too fast' with climate change claim councillors

A NUMBER of Mayo County Councillors have expressed their fear that too much is being asked of Ireland to reduce its carbon footprint and it may 'cripple' the country.

An update on Mayo County Council's Climate Action Plan was presented to members at the monthly meeting of the council, with the plan expected to be considered for adoption early in 2024.

However, some councillors expressed concern that Mayo has been set an unfair disadvantage due to its low economic activity and the targets set for the county are 'unrealistic'.

Robeen-based councillor Patsy O'Brien said he was sceptical about what the country is being asked to do and feared it will have a negative impact.

“I don't think it is possible to come to where we want to go in such a short time. It will have huge implications for a lot of sectors across communities. It doesn't make sense to me. What we are trying to do is too quick and too fast and there has to be a level playing field across the world. Ireland as a small nation will be crippled. We are going too far and we will realise it. I don't want to be lectured by Europe and we should be making the biggest case that this is too much for our county,” he said.

Ballina-based councillor John O'Hara agreed, saying that everyone living in rural Ireland needs a car and felt the country was 'going too fast and moving too quick' in its climate change targets.

Independent councillor John O'Malley added that it was 'stupid' that Irish farmers are being asked to cut down on the national herd while beef imports will be allowed to come in from abroad. He believes Ireland is going 'too far and too fast' when it comes to climate change.

“There are more cars in Boston than there are in all of Ireland. What carbon are they putting out? We are going too far too quickly and it is like Ireland is going to save the world. We are going to cut down on everything while the rest of the world blasts away and puts out what they like but as if Ireland knuckles down we will save the world. That is the greatest stupidity because it will never happen. We are one little state out in the ocean. To be asking us to cut more is not on and I won't be supporting anything that I see which is too much in this whole thing,” he said.

Fianna Fáil councillor Damien Ryan said the council will do what they can but felt that what the county is asked to do is not realistic.

“We are policy makers but we won't do it with our hands tied behind our back. We should ask the department to give us targets which are realistic and reflect the geographical size of the county with a low industrial base,” he said.

Laura Dixon, the Climate Change Officer with Mayo County Council said that there seems to be some confusion on what the council is asked to do in the plan. She said the council has direct control over 0.25 percent of emissions in the county and that is all they will try to change.

“Everything else is about advocating for change but we are not demanding change from anybody and we have to make that clear. We know what Mayo's emissions are but we are not saying we as a local authority will reduce them, but we will help the people of Mayo and communities.

“There is brilliant work being done in Mayo and really positive stories. We want our communities to live in places where there is clean air. What we want to do is improve people's quality of life. We are not telling people they cannot drive but we want to give an alternative so people have choices,” she said.