Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

We heard today the Cabinet will not approve the updated climate action plan before the Dáil rises for Christmas. I understand the plan is to go to next week’s Cabinet meeting just before Christmas. That means we in opposition will not have the opportunity to scrutinise the plan in a Dáil debate. It means yet another delay in publishing much-needed plans to tackle the climate crisis. The latest update to the current plan shows 23% of targets due for completion by the end of September were missed.

When will we have the opportunity to debate it? Will it be as early as possible in the new year? How can we have confidence the Government will meet climate targets if everything is subject to such delay? We are seeing delays in the publication of the climate action plan, just as we saw delays in the carbon budgets and sectoral emissions ceilings.

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