Fintan O’Toole: Recent record of the Irish construction industry is one long cowboy movie

Martin Heydon, Charlie McConalogue, Eamon Ryan and Pippa Hackett outside Government Buildings on July 29th. Photograph: Government Information ServiceWe don’t have an Irish space programme. But somebody needs to put a biofueled rocket under the State. Otherwise, all the arguments about how to reduce greenhouse emissions are pointless.

The abysmal record of previous governments led by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael has left the State with a formidable imperative. It’s not just that we must halve the amount of emissions in just eight years. It’s that we have to do so with a rapidly expanding population.Over those eight years between now and 2030, we will almost certainly add another half a million people — people who need housing, food, transport, jobs and energy.

For as long as I’ve been in journalism, the reforesting of Ireland has been a goal, an aspiration, an accepted necessity. And, in fairness, real progress was made. But this planning issue has been discussed, over and over, for four years now. If we can’t even create a system that allows people to plant trees, what chance do we have of solving more difficult climate-related problems?

As well as having just one offshore wind farm, we have, on the island, just one port with the facilities necessary to support the development of a serious industry. And that port — Belfast Harbour — is not in the State. Thus, on the one hand, we have a vast project that requires homeowners to hand their houses and apartments over to builders who will turn them inside out. On the other, we have a building industry with a shocking record and no accountability.Fintan O’Toole: Death Valley feels like another planet, but it’s very much this one – just in the futureNone of this is to suggest that the emissions targets can’t be met.

Longest Cowboys & Injuns movie in history fiannafailparty & FineGael supplied all the extras, MichealMartinTD & LeoVaradkar in lead roles , special guest appearance DarraghOBrienTD , produced by CIF_Ireland , finance arranged by centralbank_ie

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