Senator Pauline O'Reilly, party leader Roderic O'Gorman and Senator Roisin Garvey at the launch of the Green Party's election manifesto in Dublin. Photograph: Grainne Ni Aodha/PA Wire– as well as a new tax on business class flights and higher speeding fines for people with more disposable income.launched his party’s manifesto in Dublin on Tuesday, urging voters to return the Greens to government for a second term – and warning that only his party could safeguard climate policy.
Mr O’Gorman also promised a new dedicated agency to manage migration and integration, one of the most vexed policy areas faced by the Coalition government, and said Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael had blocked this proposal in recent years. It is promising to introduce speeding fines based on a percentage of the offender’s disposable income, as is done in Finland, and to introduce incentives for smaller and lighter vehicles while rolling out lower default speed limits. A new “climate ticket” is also promised, giving greater savings to frequent public transport users.
A new citizens’ housing fund, allowing voters to invest in capital spending on housing with a steady rate of return, is also a manifesto commitment for the Greens. The party is also promising to encourage Irish holidaymakers to take their breaks at home, and to introduce new regulations for the short-term letting market.