The snooty laziness of Eamon Ryan and the Greens is now hurting support for climate action

Growing up in Thurles in Co Tipperary, five miles from the moor at Littleton, home of the Bord na Móna briquette factory (so that moor had a quality peat, better than the old stuff you get up in Offaly), there was a ready peat supply in the city. In September my late father would order a load from a fellah out there. He would arrive with a large trailer load, unload them in front of the house and then wheelbarrow them out to the back and fill the shed to the roof. The shed gradually emptied over the winter. Over time, logs became more readily available, briquettes were easier to use, and heating was more efficient, eliminating the need for a lawn. The peat shed keeps its name in our home and there are similar stories across the country. The upcoming “turf ban” will affect a decreasing number of homeowners, but heating the home is still a high priority, so the importance cannot be underestimated.

At the same time that alternatives to peat were emerging in rural Ireland, Dublin was being smothered by smog and there was talk of phasing in a phasing out of bituminous coal, known as smoke charcoal, which burned better and was cheaper than the cleaner option. Over a long period of time, chimneys should be replaced in areas with the worst air pollution. However, a junior minister from a junior coalition party chimed in, arguing that waiting would further damage the health of the population. Against heavy industry lobbying and warnings about vulnerable people who cannot afford to heat their homes, the minister received sufficient public and political support, up to the Taoiseach, to proceed with faster implementation of the restrictions.

Mary Harney’s 1990 charcoal ban is still seen today as a positive health and environmental action, taken despite opposition and controversy both inside and outside government. In far more difficult economic times, when awareness of air pollution was falling dramatically, a far-reaching decision was made that affected large sections of the population. The effort to introduce a country-wide smoke charcoal ban should illustrate the magnitude of the achievement.

To a lesser extent, the plastic bag levy introduced by Fianna Fáil, Minister Noel Dempsey, and the smoking ban by Micheál Martin are also measures that fit into this category, as there has been much scaremongering and doom-mongering.

If only the Greens spent a little more time reflecting on past experiences and a little less talking to their own audiences. Politics is about persuasion, not preaching.

Environment Minister Eamon RyanThe ban on commercial turf sales is a confusing mix that has caused dismay in the Coalition. The first official confirmation of the ban on lawns as part of a broader ban on smoky fuels apparently came in a reply from the minister.

Normally mild-mannered figures such as Fianna Fáil’s junior minister Robert Troy and Fine Gael parliamentary party leader Richard Bruton have been heavily critical of the content of this parliamentary question, known in the political system as the PQ. The rules for drafting, explaining and enforcing this ban are not yet available. There is also no political agreement across the three governing parties. In other words, Ryan didn’t do his job.

It is impossible for a Minister to write or read through every PQ that goes to a TD on his behalf. Ministers are required by law to answer the question in full. PQs are an important part of the transparency of our democratic system. Each PQ is a potential landmine for a minister, as the information they provide can land him in trouble. Therefore, ministers have political advisors who go through the officials’ responses and make the ground safe, spotting and averting any difficulties. At last count, the Greens leader had eight political advisers. Remarkably, politically proving PQ answers does not seem to be anyone’s job. The substitute representation would be that a political adviser went through the answer and didn’t see the problem. Oh man.

The stance of some Greens on the issue has been to educate the public about the undisputed environmental and health benefits of the measure, rather than supporting people with the proposal and finding solutions to the problems it will bring. When people want validation, they get a sermon.

The haughty laziness of Ryan’s Greens is now becoming a pattern, and a dangerous narrative for government is now firmly entrenched in the public mind. The smaller coalition party is portrayed as an aloof bunch of Dublin elites who have no understanding of the struggles of ordinary people. If it sounds familiar, that’s because that’s exactly what has happened to Fine Gael over the past five years when it comes to housing.

Not selling the merits of the carbon tax is bad enough and allowing it to be portrayed as an austerity-style levy hitting the vulnerable is bad enough. But telling people to slow down and take shorter showers steers into the “bring back the wolves” and “share a pool of cars” area that made Ryan a laughing stock before the general election. Climate action is serious business, but it’s still a priority that needs to be touted to voters.

The irony is that the public is receptive to climate policy provided it is presented coherently. The Greens’ focus on climate makes a positive contribution to government, but their opposition to the review is now damaging that agenda.