Roderic O'Gorman
Dublin West · Green Party · Ireland
“These are men and women who served their working lives within the British civil service system but who, following unification, would be drawing their pensions in a united Ireland. The question of the funding of that will be extremely significant in any talks following a "Yes" vote on both parts of the island.”
“Some 100 extra staff have been hired to the public domain team to tackle waste and dumping and our councillors will continue to fight for a cleaner and greener Dublin.”
“These challenges are magnified by the continued failure of the current political institutions in Northern Ireland to operate for the best interests of the people rather than achieving best political advantage for the parties.”
“In the Dublin Central area, an average of 50 tonnes per month of illegally dumped waste is being removed by the council. It is a huge amount of waste, and this is more than is collected in an entire year from whole counties elsewhere in the country. Our current model of waste management is a direct contributor to this.”
“This means that in many areas, bags are the notional solution but these cause issues with seagulls or foxes or are intermingled with illegally dumped bags. The net result is our footpaths are strewn with waste. Dublin City Council recently rolled out a system of waste compactors in the core areas of the city centre.”
“The solution is to rationalise the current system, put local authorities back at the centre of waste management processes and use this to get a better handle on pricing and illegal dumping through contracts that are right for each specific area, instead of the one-size-fits-all model we have at the moment that is not actually working anyw…”
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“In particular, it is clear that this strategy, if it is to work, requires significant legislative changes to deliver on its key elements, yet there is no commitment to a clear legislative timeline to do that. I am not clear why the Government would publish a strategy of such significance without tagging on a clear timeline with it, given the extent to which it has already been delayed and the urgency with which everybody speaking in this Chamber today is going to treat this particular matter. A strategy is just a beginning. There needs to be a clear commitment to deliver on it. Without timelines attached, it is hard to see where that commitment becomes apparent.”
“This is something I have raised in the Chamber and in the committee on a number of occasions. Instead of the emergency roll-out of technology that we know works, we saw a year of bilateral meetings and a review. However, while the Minister of State was reviewing this document, our roads were becoming increasingly lethal. That vision zero goal, Ireland's commitment to eliminating road deaths by 2050, becomes less like a target and more like a mirage when the primary tool for enforcement is stuck in a departmental inbox for a full calendar year. I believe the strategy that has been published falls short in a number of key areas. The primary and most glaring issue is that there are no timelines for the implementation of the strategy.”
“This debate must first of all reflect on the carnage on our roads in 2025, a year in which 185 lives were lost in crashes and accidents. This was the highest fatality rate in over a decade. It was a year in which we saw the previous trends of progress in this area not just stalled, but actually reversed. That momentum of tragic reversal has continued in 2026. I think everyone here recognises that safety cameras are not a silver bullet, but they can help to make our roads less dangerous. In the context of that ongoing tragedy on our roads, the delay in the publication of this report was really baffling. We know that the draft report was submitted to the Minister of State in May last year. That is a year ago now and that year has been a very dark one for road safety in our country.”
“We need a commitment from the Government, and particularly the Minister, that a positive vote on this Bill tonight will see the Government engage seriously with the question of removing the three-day wait, bringing this matter back to the Dáil rapidly in order that this paternalistic treatment of women in our law can finally be ended.”
“I cannot think of another healthcare issue where a person's bodily autonomy is so blatantly ignored. We have to ask ourselves why the decisions that women make about their own bodies not be trusted. I welcome the fact that the Government is permitting a free vote this evening. However, I have real worries that the concerns the Government has raised in the media about this Bill will be used subsequently to delay and ultimately derail the core policy goal behind it. Such an approach cannot be accepted. It is vital that this Bill gets the support of Dáil Éireann and that it is not sidelined and left to rot in committee. It must be engaged with. If the Department has concerns, let them be fleshed out on Committee Stage.”
“Those who are going to vote against this Bill this evening have to ask themselves who that vote will serve? It will not serve the women of Ireland. We know from work done in the National Maternity Hospital and through Women's Aid that pregnancy is a high-risk time for women who are in controlling or abusive relationships. If a woman gets out of her house to see a doctor, is she going to get a second opportunity to come back in three days' time, knowing that she is in increased danger? We know it is difficult to get GP appointments in many parts of the country right now. What about women who are at the edge of the 12-week period? Those three days could be enough to force them to bring a pregnancy to full term or see their healthcare provider be criminalised for giving them access to abortion pills.”
“On behalf of the Green Party, I am pleased to support this Bill. I thank Deputy Cairns for bringing it forward. During the 2018 referendum, I joined with representatives from other political parties, Independents and people who have never been involved in a political campaign before in our local Together for Yes organisation in Dublin West. The central case we made on every door as we campaigned was that Ireland needed to listen to women and respect their decisions about their bodies. When the referendum was passed decisively, Ireland understood that we were finally listening to women. However, the continuation of the three-day rule does not do that. Instead, it carries on the paternalistic view that women do not know their own minds.”
“Is a scheme for more financial support for heat pumps and EVs on the way imminently? Will the Tánaiste give us as close to a "Yes" or "No" answer on that because there are people waiting on that clarity in terms of big investment decisions they make in their own households?”
“Over the weekend, the Tánaiste stated that the Government is exploring one-off payments towards environmentally-friendly measures such as heat pumps and efficient cars. I welcome that the Government is looking at how it can support householders more. My worry is by floating for potential of new grants without a timeline, there is some risk people will defer big decisions on new EVs or heat pumps until there is clarity. One comment on my social media was as follows: "Yep, we were about to pull the trigger on a heat pump; now not sure if we should wait or not". I also asked the Taoiseach about this matter during Questions on Policy and Legislation yesterday but I was not much clearer about it afterwards. There is confusion out there. Will the Tánaiste give as much clarity as he can right now?”
“The Minister needs to back this project and ensure the O route is rolled out soon on both sides - north and south - from the outset.”
“We are missing an opportunity if we do not speed up the introduction of this O route. Running buses in both directions in a circuit around Dublin city centre will change the way people get around the city. There is one point about which I am concerned. My understanding, from comments an NTA official made to me, is that the roll-out of the O route might be split into two semi-circles, with only the southern portion being introduced first. That absolutely misses the point of an orbital route. It would also be unfair on communities in Dublin’s north-inner city that would benefit from a high-frequency service running in both directions along the North Circular Road. As with so many other public transport projects, it is clear that a lack of funding is causing the delay.”
“The reply stated that," Commencement of the new O-Route is subject to confirmation of sufficient PSO funding to support its operation, and hence a precise commencement date cannot be provided at this time." When will the O route be rolled out? Will the Minister of State work to speed it up?”
“One of the most difficult things to do in public transport in Dublin is get across the city rather than in and out of it. That is why those orbital routes are so important. The BusConnects O route will connect communities across Dublin city centre, from Infirmary Road in the west and North Strand in East Wall to across the Liffey and around the South Circular Road back to Heuston Station. Running in both directions, it will be the first true orbital route. It is the circuit that will link all the different spines of BusConnects together. When I asked the Minister and the NTA last February when it will roll out, I was told it would be in quarter 3 of 2025. There was no sign of it in quarter 3 of 2025. When I asked the Minister and the NTA about it in February 2025, they could not even give me a roll-out date.”
“Kilkenny is well represented in the Chair this morning. I wish to ask the Minister for Transport for an update on the roll-out of the planned O route, which is the inner orbital route, as part of the BusConnects project in Dublin.”
“If the Government is not planning to introduce these new measures until the budget in October, the Tánaiste's remarks risk pulling out the rug from under new EV sales and new heat pump sales over the next six months. Will the Taoiseach confirm when households will know what are the new energy efficient measures the Government is proposing to bring forward, and when will they be able to get the benefit of them?”
“Over the weekend the Tánaiste stated he was exploring one-off payments towards environmentally friendly energy measures such as heat pumps and efficient cars. I welcome the fact the Government is giving consideration to how it can do more to protect households and how it can make them more energy efficient and cut their bills. However, when it comes to offering new grants there is a problem with floating an idea and then taking a long time to deliver on it. If there is talk of additional financial supports coming down the track, no one will buy an EV or invest in a heat pump when they think something extra is coming down the line.”
“It is urgent that the report is published. I urge him to do it as quickly as possible and to respect the work that was put into this report.”
“In Dublin 15, it has been parents and educators who have provided the leadership when it comes to special education. Danu Community Special School has a large number of autism classes. It was driven forward by the Dublin 15 autism group. The common application system, which is where, for the first time, a family only has to apply in one location and that application is sent for autism classes across 18 primary schools was driven forward by the Dublin 15 Principals' Network and Helena Trench in particular. That is why it is so frustrating that these groups gave a huge amount of time to the task force to bring forward these recommendations, which, as the Minister of State said, were put forward in the context of Dublin 15 but have city-wide and national application as well, have not been brought into the public light yet.”
“I thought the Minister of State was going to give me some news there, but we need a specific date for publication and an understanding of how the Department is going to respond to each of the recommendations.”
“There is real anger about the fact that this report that was handed over to the Department in July still has not been published. The Minister was involved in the establishment of this task force, so I do not need to go into the entire history. Before the 2024 general election, when there was a real crisis in Dublin 15 about lack of places for autism classes and in special schools, the Government, which I was a part of, made a decision to establish the task force to address the issue. The Minister of State set out the huge amount of work that was done by State bodies, but particularly by the representatives of parents and schools in the area. The recommendations are relevant to Dublin 15, but they are also relevant to the wider country. It is not good enough that we still do not have a date for the publication.”
“We see an effort to scapegoat climate action for wider difficulties in the delivery of infrastructure. I wish to conclude on the message that change in how we power our economy and our society can happen. Our European partners have shown that it can be delivered at speed and the benefits that accrue to the populations of those countries. This evening, the Green Party will join with other political parties and civil society groups outside the gates of Leinster House to remind the Government, which seeks to vote this motion down, that Ireland needs real climate action. The energy crisis is a consequence of the climate emergency. It is time for the Government to act. Let us establish our energy independence. Let us protect Irish households from high fuel bills into the future.”
“Many of us grew up hearing about the oil price crises of 1973 and 1979. Now, our generation is experiencing the second energy price crisis in four years. It is the second caused by a war in another part of the world and the second caused by the whims of an unstable political leader. We can free ourselves from the position of vulnerability we are in. There is only one viable long-term solution to avoid these energy shocks and that is for Ireland to produce its own abundant renewable energy on our own terms. However, there is a lack of urgency and a lack of determination to address these challenges at pace by this Government. This lack of belief is translated into a failure to be able to convincingly make the case for this transition to the Irish people. Now, too often we see the opposite.”
“The Government is not treating this emergency with the seriousness it deserves, and worse, it is undermining the very mechanisms that have been put in place and that will allow us as a society to respond. No amount of hand waving away, in the context of the amendments to the motion, can change the fact the Government is undermining the climate action Act, defunding public transport and giving up on climate and biodiversity targets. In tackling an emergency, sometimes the scale of the problem seems so large that it is difficult to make it tangible and make it real in the context of daily lives. However, this is not one of these times because the madness that we are seeing in the Middle East has made the climate emergency all too real for every one of us in Ireland. The energy crisis we face is a fossil fuels crisis.”
“Some €700 million of that, which was available to fund nature-based solutions that would have had a huge impact on biodiversity in our country, is not available anymore. That should be the focus of the Minister of State's work. This House declared a climate and biodiversity emergency in 2019. I wish to emphasise the word "emergency". It was more than justified when we consider the scale of the risk to every person that climate change and biodiversity loss poses. In declaring an emergency, this House also took on the responsibility to respond to that emergency with action. The previous Government - the Government I was part of - took that responsibility seriously. We implemented ambitious targets. We passed the landmark climate Act. We funded the infrastructure we need to make that transition to a net zero economy.”
“The number of migratory birds coming to Ireland has decreased rapidly in the past 30 years. A number of species have been particularly impacted. I suggest to the Minister of State, Deputy O'Sullivan, that rather than taking cheap digs that he looks at what he is not doing in his Department and looks at funding for farmers and nature-based solutions. That is funding had been put aside in the Climate and Nature Fund. There was €3.15 billion to deal with these kinds of issues and particularly to provide funding to farmers. We must recognise that if we are going to ask farmers to take nature-based solutions on their land, we have to pay them for that. We have to ensure new income streams are being provided. That money is gone because the Climate and Nature Fund was raided.”
“In his speech earlier, the Minister of State, Deputy O'Sullivan, had a bit of a go at me because I did not reference nature and biodiversity in my initial ten-minute speech. Funnily enough, I was going to give him a little compliment in terms of a bit of good news yesterday in the context of his Department. Yesterday, my colleague, Senator Malcolm Noonan, recognised it was World Curlew Day. That was celebrated because we are finally seeing some breeding pairs come back to various parts of Ireland led by the NPWS. I was going to acknowledge the Minister of State's role in that. However, if he is not giving any space, I am not going to give it either. That good news is reflected at a time when we also know there is a major crisis in terms of migratory birds.”
“The comfort we enjoy now in terms of being able to deal with emergencies - for example, Covid, the Ukraine war and responding to the Iran war - that is being put at risk by our country's and our Government's failures to take the actions that will avoid these fines. What is particularly infuriating is that on this issue the Government is waving the white flag four years before the target deadlines come in. I do not know of any other targets set by the Government where it would be seen as acceptable for the Government to give up four years in advance. What the Government needs to do now is rapidly publish a climate action plan, fully align it to next carbon budget cycle and set out the additional measures, new measures and extra measures that will get Ireland back on track for our 2030 targets.”
“At the very centre of this Government approach is the unambiguous statement by the Minister for climate and energy that Ireland will miss its 2030 emissions targets by half and the fact he has provided no emergency plan to seek to address that or reverse that trajectory. The climate consequences of that failure, of not reaching these targets, will have very real consequences for our economy as well. The Irish Fiscal Advisory Council and the Climate Change Advisory Council published a joint paper indicating the costs for Ireland as a potential range of €8 billion to €26 billion in compliance costs for missing climate targets. Even if we took the lowest end of that range, €8 billion, out of our budget in a year, that is a surplus wiped out.”
“I am afraid my efforts to find common ground cannot extend quite as far as aligning myself with Deputy Danny Healy-Rae’s version of history and science. There is only so much we can do in one day. I thank the Minister of State for his contribution. I am disappointed the Government is not prepared to accept the motion the Green Party has put forward and is instead tabling a countermotion, which frankly refuses to acknowledge the very real setback in climate action we have seen under this Government. There is serious denial on the Government benches around the scale of the challenges we face in Ireland. The attitude is that the foot can be taken off the pedal now that it does not have to deal with the Green Party at the Cabinet table.”
“I thank Deputies for their contributions to this debate, particularly those Deputies who indicated their support for my motion. In the effort to try to find a bit of common ground among Deputies who disagreed, I was delighted to hear Deputy Michael Collins speak about supporting one of his constituents who is trying to move transport and heavy goods vehicles, HGVs, onto a battery source. I recommend the Deputy look at the zero-emission heavy duty vehicle purchase grant scheme that is in place. In my time as Minister, I had the opportunity to take part in the launch of a number of heavy-duty vehicles being done by ATC Computer Transport and Logistics. It turned approximately 10% of a large heavy-duty vehicle fleet to electric vehicles. It can be done. I am delighted to see Deputy Collins advocating for that in his constituency.”
“The cost-of-living consequences of sticking with imported oil and gas should not be borne by another generation of Irish householders. The energy crisis is the climate crisis and as a country, we have the natural resources to allow us to produce renewable energy at scale-----”
“The Ennis Environmental Action Group has led a voluntary public information campaign to inform neighbours and friends about the grants available under SEAI schemes. This work has led to a 2.6-fold increase in applications to the warmers homes scheme in that area. This sort of effective peer-to-peer sharing of information is helping to better spread information, but also break down preconceived notions about these schemes. At a time we know people are looking to better understand how the retrofit process works, I ask the Government to look at what the Ennis Environmental Action Group did and how it was able to make the case for transition within its community. The argument for changing our economy to run on renewables is no longer just an environmental one.”
“Over 1 million units have been installed. They are sold by major retailers. They are affordable and are easy to install. They can be used in apartments that cannot have rooftop solar and in rental properties as well. We know these panels could save people money on their bills now in the midst of an energy crisis. I asked the Taoiseach about this issue last month. I have questioned the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, on a number of occasions yet there is still no clarity on how or when any technical issues regarding the large-scale deployment of plug-in solar in Ireland will be addressed. The actions needed to shift our economy to renewables are not only taken at State level. Communities are coming together to fill the gap Government inaction has left.”
“We must acknowledge that the climate crisis is the energy crisis and that the solutions are not cheap but understand that once those solutions are invested in, they can bring immediate savings to hard-pressed households, will lessen our energy insecurity and have the added benefit of decarbonising our economy. Our third proposal does not require major State expenditure. Over the past number of months, the Green Party and I have been urging the Government to allow for the deployment of plug-in solar in Irish homes and to take what steps that are needed to resolve any safety concerns related to it. In March, in response to the current energy crisis, the UK Government announced it would make plug-in solar panels available to British households. These easy-to-install panels have become commonplace in Germany.”
“An upfront investment of €500 million, about two-thirds of what was agreed in the emergency package signed off last week, would deliver 70,000 small electric vehicles under this scheme. These schemes are not cheap. Activating them would mean upending our spending plans this year and next year, and I am sure it would cause a couple of furrowed brows on officials of the Department of public expenditure as well. However, at a time we are in the enviable situation to be one of a small number of European countries reporting a significant budget surplus, that we would go through a second energy crisis, again driven by our dependence on imported fossil fuels, and not take big and bold action to reduce our dependence, would be a failure to act as an act of national self-sabotage.”
“Investing €400 million a year for five years, which is about half the cost of the package that was agreed last week, would provide free solar energy to hundreds of thousands of energy-poor households. Second, we propose that the Government creates a social leasing scheme for electric vehicles, EVs, for essential workers. This will be based on a scheme operated by the French Government over the past two years. As a social leasing scheme, it would operate where small-scale electric cars would be leased on a five-year basis by the State to essential workers who need to drive to work or have limited transport alternatives. This model, with the State making an initial contribution to reduce the monthly cost, would remove what we all recognise as the biggest barrier to EV uptake, namely, high upfront costs.”
“While this money is needed to protect households and businesses from the current crisis, not one cent of that money works to protect or prevent either our economy nationally or individual households from experiencing a similar price spike the next time there is a global emergency. A total of €750 million spent and it is all entirely reactive, entirely short-term and in no way changes or reduces our vulnerability. I want to make three suggestions about what this bold action could look like. The Green Party proposes a new fully-free solar programme for all households in receipt of the fuel allowance. Eight solar panels will be provided to each home. This will mean solar will reach the most vulnerable households more quickly. It will reduce their energy bills at a time we know they can be subject to rapid price shocks.”
“Right now, Belfast is the only port on the island capable of supporting the construction of offshore turbines. This has to change. We need to develop Cork and Rosslare ports so they can support the delivery of offshore wind but also that they can enjoy the benefits of the support industries and the economic development that will gather around sites where electricity generated by wind is brought onshore. We need big and bold actions. The urgency with which we need to protect Irish households from this energy price shock, and the next one that probably is not far down the road. Over the past two months the Government has allocated over €750 million in new emergency spending to deal with the energy crisis.”
“Yet, over the past 15 months, the Government has demonstrated that it does not possess the belief in this transition to make the case for it convincingly to the Irish people. Therefore, on a national basis, what should Ministers be doing to progress this transformation of our energy systems? First, the Government needs to speed up the delivery of the offshore wind farms that were successfully bid for during the term of the previous Government. An Coimisiún Pleanála and the Maritime Area Regulatory Authority, MARA, need to be given additional expert staff so they can more quickly process and decide on applications for offshore winds and for large-scale solar arrays. The Government also needs to speed up investment and delivery of improvement in our ports.”
“This solar revolution did not come about naturally and simply as a cause of Spain enjoying a sunny climate. For decades, solar supplied only a minor part of the country's electricity. However, following the Ukraine invasion in 2022, the Spanish Government, recognising its vulnerability to international energy shocks, took a deliberate policy decision to reduce its dependence on imported gas and move much of its economy towards renewables. In Demark, over 83% of the country's electricity is generated from renewable sources: wind, bioenergy and increasingly solar. Interconnection with other Nordic countries provides an additional layer of protection. These countries have shown that governments can lead the fight on decarbonisation but at the same time create energy independence for their economies and leave all their citizens better off.”
“Ireland needs to be able to generate its own energy so we can make our own choices. The only way to achieve true fuel security in Ireland is to stop importing it. Our country will remain vulnerable to energy shocks until we transition our entire economy onto renewable sources of energy. Countries that have already taken this step to move to renewables have economies that are better placed to cope in the current crisis and are therefore better able to protect their own people from the worst of the energy price spike. In Spain, renewable energy now generates 50% of the country's electricity coming from wind, hydro, and, increasingly, from solar. Spain has seen dramatic growth in the use of solar power in the past six years. This is one of the contributing factors to Spain having the lowest wholesale electricity prices within the EU.”
“Today, 22 April, is Earth Day, a day that has been marked since 1970. For 56 years, people around the world have used this date to speak for and act for environmental protection around our planet. It is appropriate, therefore, that on Earth Day this House supports the motion I am proposing and delivers a powerful message. The energy crisis is the climate crisis. On behalf of the Green Party, I am proposing this motion as people across our country experience the consequences of another global spike in the prices of energy. The origins of this energy price crisis is our country's over-reliance on fossil fuels. The war in Iran has, for the second time in four years, shown how our economy is at the mercy of the whims of Trump, Putin, Netanyahu and of the Ayatollah.”
“I move: That Dáil Éireann: recognises that the triple planetary crises of climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss are an existential threat to humanity; notes that the 22nd of April, is Earth Day, where people around the world are called to stand in defence of the only home we share; declared a climate and biodiversity emergency, becoming the second national parliament in the world to do so, and in so doing recognised the importance of Ireland responding to these crises in 2019; further recognises that: — to address this challenge, the Government has committed to achieving a climate neutral economy by no later than 2050 and, through carbon budgets and the Climate Action Plan, to reduce by 51 per cent the annual greenhouse gas emissions reported for 2030 compared to 2018; — these commitments are underpinned by the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015, amended and strengthened in 2021, which acts as a foundation for the State's climate policy, and provides the legal basis for Ireland's climate ambitions; — biodiversity targets are driven by Ireland's 4th National Biodiversity Action Plan 2023-2030 (NBAP), which aims to meet international commitments, including 30 per cent protected land and marine areas by 2030, this plan is on a statutory footing, and public bodies have a duty to contribute to these targets; — achievement of these ambitions requires a Whole-of-Government approach to the decarbonisation of the energy system, the provision of electrified public transport at scale, the retrofitting of Ireland's building stock, and the development of new renewable energy sources; — the ongoing crisis in the Middle East has demonstrated that the objective of affordable, secure and decarbonised energy cannot be met through importation of fossil fuels, which are carbon intensive and subject to rapid price shocks; — in confronting the fact that 29 per cent of Irish households are in energy poverty and hundreds of thousands of electricity and gas customers are in arrears, we must ensure that in moving to a net-zero Ireland we adhere to the principles of the Just Transition Commission, and must reach those furthest behind first; — energy crises disproportionately impact the most marginalised, including one parent families, carers, disabled people, members of the Traveller community, and older people are driven by an energy system that is too reliant on expensive imported fossil fuels; and — climate change and its consequences are and will continue to have profound effects on human health and the wellbeing of future generations; notes, with concern that: — the Minister for Climate, Energy, and the Environment has indicated that the Government will miss its 2030 emissions reduction target by half, and has provided no emergency plan to reverse this trajectory; — the Environmental Protection Agency, in preparing its latest emissions projections, found that the Government had not included any significant new policies or measures in the Climate Action Plan 2025, to close the gap in meeting 2030 climate targets; — relevant Government Ministers have not yet fulfilled their duties under the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Acts to attend the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate, Environment and Energy, and outline corrective measures to meet sectoral emissions ceilings; — the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council and the Climate Change Advisory Council published a joint peer-reviewed analysis in 2025, indicating a potential €8-€26 billion in compliance costs for Ireland through missing climate targets; — the Government has proposed legislation that will fundamentally undermine the functioning of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act, by exempting carbon intensive projects from scrutiny under that Act; — the Government intends to increase Ireland's reliance on fossil fuels through the creation of a State-owned Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal which will be reliant on imported gas and subject to geopolitical price shocks far beyond the State's control; — the enabling legislation for a State-owned LNG terminal, the Strategic Gas Emergency Reserve Bill 2025, seeks to pre-empt scrutiny of this project under Section 15 of Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act, suggesting that the Government understands that it is not compliant with Ireland's climate targets; — an LNG terminal will lead to locked-in fossil fuel industry expansion that does not align with Ireland's binding climate obligations; — a similar provision in the Dublin Airport (Passenger Cap) Bill 2026 suggests that the Government is placing the interests of airlines ahead of the need for a healthy environment and climate action; — the newly published Critical Infrastructure Bill 2026 will allow the wholesale exclusion of carbon intensive projects from scrutiny under the Climate Action Act; — despite a target of 5 gigawatts (GW) of new offshore wind energy by 2030 under the Climate Action Plan, no new offshore wind projects have been delivered, and the projects currently planned amount to less than 5 GW; — the Government is due to fall well short of its retrofitting targets of 500,000 residential retrofits and the deployment of 400,000 heat pumps by 2030; — the National Development Plan Review 2025 has reversed the previous Government's policy of providing a ratio of 2:1 investment in public transport over new roads, which will undermine plans to improve public transport and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the transport sector; — rapid growth in the number of data centres in Ireland has created significant induced demand for electricity, which will eliminate the net positive effect of new renewables projects and lead to increased energy prices for ordinary households; — the Government has raided the €3.15 billion Climate and Nature Fund to plug holes in its infrastructure budget; — the Marine Protected Areas Bill has yet to be published; — the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, has disbanded its climate division; — funding for farmers to implement the NBAP is wholly inadequate; — the Final Report for Phase 2 of the National Land Use Review has been with the Minister for Climate, Energy, and the Environment, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the Minister of State at Housing, Local Government and Heritage almost a year and is still not published; — the Government has not fully met its legal obligations under the Climate Act as emissions limits do not account for the Land Use, Land Use Change, and Forestry sector; — the Government has not yet addressed the recommendations of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate, Environment and Energy regarding the preparation and delivery of Carbon Budgets 3 and 4 (2031-2040); and — the Climate Action Plan 2026 has been significantly delayed and is still not yet published; and calls on the Government to: — re-commit to the legally binding target of 51 per cent emissions reduction by 2030; — remove any provisions from draft legislation that limits the effectiveness of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act; — implement the recommendations of the Independent Advisory Committee on nature restoration and to adequately fund Ireland's Nature Restoration Plan; and — protect vulnerable households from the ongoing fossil fuel price crisis through new targeted supports and safeguards, by speeding up access to home energy upgrades, and by ensuring that Ireland develops its own secure and clean renewable energy.”
“When will the Minister and Minister of State publish the report of the Dublin 15 schools task force? It was handed over to their predecessors in July last year. We have now been waiting over eight months for the report to be published and for officials to deal with it. A huge amount of work went into it and more and more it appears to be the case that there is an effort to ignore or sideline the report's important recommendations. The Minister and Minister of State urgently need to publish the report.”
“I appeal to the Minister and Minister of State to engage with the NCSE and make sure that necessary school places are delivered in Dublin West. Where schools are being asked to open new autism classes at short notice, they should be fully supported in doing so. I want to raise the case of Hansfield Educate Together National School. An ANA review sought by the school resulted in no additional staffing being provided. The school has seen a significant increase in the number of students with the highest care support needs joining in September of this year, yet it has not received an equivalent increase in ANAs. The school management is desperately concerned about the ability of the school to meet the needs of existing students and the new students who will be joining the school in September.”
“I thank colleagues in Sinn Féin for bringing forward the motion. In my constituency, Dublin West, we have seen sustained challenges over many years in respect of parents being able to secure appropriate places for their children in local schools. I know the Minister and Minister of State are aware of that. Right now, there remain children who I know do not have an appropriate place assigned to them for September at primary and secondary level. The Minister said on the radio last week that no child would be left without a place this September, but that deadline is getting closer and closer. The opportunity for these children to acclimatise to their new school setting is a transition that is often significantly more challenging for a child with autism. That opportunity has been lost.”
“Is he committed to continuing to grow that pot of money that is available for ACRES to support farmers, to support the further roll out of the warmer homes scheme and other retrofit schemes, and to have additional money so social protection payments like the fuel allowance can be increased, or is it a wait and see matter? Are we just going to wait and see until October and see what level of pressure is going to deployed against him? Will his common sense mean that he will actually duck the decision again?”
“The Tánaiste has spoken about common sense and it not making sense now to allow these increases to take place but he has to recognise the precedent that he set he it suspended the carbon tax increase because of the blockades in our streets. The Tánaiste has to understand that the people who have seen him bend and break now will anticipate that he will do it again and will look to put that same level pressure on it when it comes to the next set of decisions coming in October of this year. When it comes to October of this year, can the Tánaiste set out what his starting point is in respect of the carbon tax?”
“By deferring the increase, the Tánaiste has ceded the ground to those who say the carbon tax is the root of all evil, and he has lost that case for that constant expansion of that pool of money for ACRES, the warmer homes scheme and retrofits, and ultimately it has not won the Tánaiste one iota of thanks from the people who have always opposed this particular measure. Again, I have to ask the Tánaiste why he did it.”
“On the evening we voted on the financial resolutions, I noted that the Tánaiste's decision to defer that increase shattered that coalition that had existed in this House across Government and some parts of the Opposition where difficult votes to support the carbon tax had been taken. I genuinely have to ask why. As the Tánaiste pointed out, the value forgone is actually very small in terms of the overall package, €22 million out of €505 million. It is 4.3%. I spoke to a number of Fianna Fáil backbenchers the next day and they made the point that for six years, they had gone out and batted for the carbon tax and the Tánaiste's action had really pulled the rug out from underneath them in terms of the case they were making.”