Letters to the Editor: Inadequate action means we now need emergency measures
Political And Prioritise To Leaders Biodiversity Climate Need Issues
We write as academics and citizens to advocate in the strongest possible terms for political leaders to prioritise responses to the climate and biodiversity emergency in the current general election campaign.
This emergency is unequivocally upon us, raising genuine existential risk for the stability of all human civilisation within the lifetime of young people already of voting age. It dwarfs “conventional” political issues: There can be no meaningful or enduring solutions to housing, healthcare, education, emigration, economic development, peace, or justice unless there is a successful response to the climate and biodiversity emergency.
And for Ireland to play even its minimal fair share in such a global response would now require fundamental and disruptive changes in current political priorities.
Such changes are inconceivable without clear and explicit political leadership and the widest possible societal communication, critical discussion and collective engagement.
Ireland has indeed made significant progress, through the establishment of a world-leading framework for national-level climate action, with almost unanimous support across the political spectrum. However, implementation has been consistently inadequate.
Every expert that we are aware of, who has looked seriously at the latest Irish climate action plan (CAP24), is agreed that, in its current form, it does not provide a credible pathway for coming into compliance with our supposedly legally binding carbon budget programme. Not by 2025, not by 2030, and not even by 2035 (which is as far as the programme currently runs).
Indeed, rather than converging to compliance, the current projections are for a progressively increasing gap (chasm?) between statutory “commitment” and atmospheric reality.
So, every party and every candidate needs to be challenged to say what new and additional actions they will put in place, over and above everything that is already in CAP24: being clear that the inadequate action to date means that we now need genuinely emergency scale measures, that will, by definition, be significantly disruptive.
We believe that it is utterly impossible to do justice to the climate and biodiversity emergency in the election campaign without a full leaders’ debate, devoted exclusively to it. This should be broadcast on national TV and online, and driven by an audience selected explicitly to represent future generations who are entirely reliant on the decisions being made now.
We invite citizens who agree with this position to express that by signing an online petition now available at ge2024.postcarbonireland.org
Barry McMullin, Dublin City University (emeritus); Hannah E. Daly, University College Cork; John Sweeney, Maynooth University (emeritus); Clare Kelly, Trinity College Dublin
Vulture’s prey
Eoin English and Alan McGee serve Examiner readers a timely reminder of the ticking timebomb ready to blow our economy asunder ( ‘Vulture funds 'fuelling insolvency', November 11). The Leinster House politicians sold countless families down the Swanee during the 2008 financial crisis, bailing out billionaires like Anglo bondholder Roman Abramovich, instead of helping mortgage holders in distress.
Dominic Casey from Access Credit Union singled out one former finance minister for particularly scathing and sarcastic criticism way back in 2021: “I will never understand, let alone forgive, Michael Noonan for his decision to invite vulture funds to prey on Irish family homes. His decision has largely led to the current housing crisis. Well done Michael.”
Michael O’Flynn, Friars Walk, Cork
Quotas for teachers
Recent comments attributed to Michael O’Leary regarding the over-representation of teachers in the Dáil are to be welcomed.
The Dáil has and historically has been overburdened with teachers, many of whom occupied ministerial office that they were neither qualified for nor effectual in.
The outgoing taoiseach credits two teachers (Enda Kenny and Michael Noonan) with creating the architecture for the economic recovery. For balance, he should have mentioned that his cabinet colleague, Micheál Martin, a primary school teacher, played his part in cabinet in the ruin of the public finances.
Maybe it’s time to consider quota limits on the number of teachers that can enter the Dáil, particularly as the old adage of ‘those that can, do, and those that can’t, teach’ comes to mind.
John Coughlan, Macroom, Co Cork
Undermining UNRWA’s work
The ballot box is the linchpin of our democratic values. It is the opportunity for the citizen to influence the way it is governed. It is also the occasion when politicians are held accountable for their actions, and as such they fear it greatly. It should be exercised with great caution.
The United Nations Relief and Work Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, the UNRWA, was mandated by a General Assembly Resolution to cater for the needs of Palestine refugees after the creation of the state of Israel in 1948. Since that time, it has diligently carried out its mandate in times of war and peace. In 1967 after Israel illegally occupied, Gaza, West Bank, and Jerusalem, it requested UNRWA to continue its activities. Under international law, an occupying force has the duty of care for those it occupies, Israel for its own self-interest abrogated this obligation to UNRWA.
The government of Israel has now decided to ban UNRWA operations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT), and has this week notified the chairperson of the General Assembly of its intentions.
I was proud to serve as an international staff member of UNRWA over a 10-year period during a momentous period in Palestine's troubled history, the first Intifada, the Gulf War, Madrid Peace Talks Oslo Accords, and putative Palestine self-rule. In all of this, UNRWA maintained its sacred duty to its clients.
I had previously served as an Irish Army officer with Unifil on three tours of duty in Lebanon.
Throughout my employment in the OPT, I daily observed Israel’s attempts to delegitimise the inalienable rights of the Palestine refugees. UNRWA as the custodian of the refugees’ right of return was constantly targeted as being anti-Israel, and prolonging the problem. It was ably assisted by the US and other European States.
The decision to terminate UNRWA's role at an existential time can only be described as yet another example of its genocidal actions. The Internal Criminal Court (ICJ), the world’s highest judicial authority’s preliminary ruling of the occupation being illegal and must cease was supported by the UN General Assembly. These rulings mean that Israel has no rights over the work of UNRWA.
In the coming general election members of the Oireachtas Friends of Israel will canvas for citizens’ votes. May I respectfully suggest that they be questioned, do they (i) support Israel’s actions in the Gaza war, (ii) support Israel’s decision to ban UNRWA’s mandate in the OPT under a UN General Assembly Resolution. Finally, have they been the recipient of any Israeli grace and favour benefits, including visits to Israel and donations to their office?
An informed opinion should then dictate the way they exercise their vote.
Declan Greenway, Kinsale
We are no longer genuinely neutral
The Irish electorate should not focus only on national and personal issues in choosing our next government. We live in a disturbed interconnected world where all of humanity faces existential crises, including disastrous climate change, war crimes and resource wars in Europe and Africa, genocide in Gaza, multiple refugee crises, and political upheaval internationally.
Successive Irish governments have been eroding Ireland’s traditional policies of active neutrality and the promotion of global justice. We are no longer a genuine neutral state and have joined the unjustified abuses of power of the West against the rest of humanity.
This is contrary to the best interests not only of the Irish electorate but also the best interests of our Irish diaspora and humanity as a whole.
The genuine rule of international laws based on the UN Charter has been replaced by the fictitious ‘rules-based international order’ where the rules are made, and too often broken, by a cabal of the most powerful states who should be upholding genuine international law and order. If we join Nato or a European Union defence alliance, we will be abandoning our Irish independence. Neutrality should be a priority issue in the election campaign.
Edward Horgan, Castletroy, Limerick
Lay off rugby
In response to Colin Sheridan’s column last Monday, to call rugby a non-played sport suggests he’s never visited a rugby club on a Saturday morning and seen the vibrant mini sections run by dedicated volunteers.
This lazy journalism reeks of inverted snobbery, where rugby is seen as a private school game played by the banking class while the real Gaels are involved in their local GAA clubs. In truth, from my experience with three young boys involved in a multitude of sports, there is real cross-code participation by kids with many leaving training in one sport to go to a game in another.
May I suggest Colin devote his talents to highlight the need for improved facilities across all sports, or the drop off in participation among older teenagers, or any other actual problem, rather than this nonsense.
Niall Burke, Well Rd, Cork