Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I apologise for being late. I was chairing a meeting of another committee. I thank the Minister for attending. I hope we can have a further engagement with him on a line-by-line basis, if time allows, at some future date. Our committee has 42 recommendations, whereas 183 actions are outlined in the Government's report. I perceive a gap between the all-party committee's recommendations and the Government's position. Notwithstanding the positive aspirations in its approach, I hope the entire Government can work with the joint committee to iron out some of the gaps. One such gap relates, as Deputy Pringle indicated, to the relevant legislation. There is a sense of urgency on the part of the joint committee in respect of the need to put in place, sooner rather than later, a legislative base for the legally-binding targets leading to 2030 and, thereafter, the net zero target for 2050, which is one of the recommendations. I am a little concerned that the Government's approach means that a Bill might not be published until next March and that it would not be enacted until the end of 2020. Another year could conceivably pass before we address the binding targets. The Minister might comment on that point.

The second and probably more important aspect relates to reducing greenhouse gas emissions from 60 million tonnes to 33 million by 2030. In the Government's plan, I do not see clear metrics on how we will do this and adhere to the 2030 targets. Respectfully, having worked with the Minister in other Departments and knowing what he has delivered, I am worried that there might be slippage and that we might overshoot the 2030 targets in favour of an aspiration to net zero by 2050. By 2030, however, we may still be far off target for our commitments under the Paris Agreement of 2015. I wonder whether there should be a greater sense of urgency for clear, bespoke actions. For community energy, rural transport, active travel and the rewetting of peatlands, for example, my fear is that within the Government, there will be a siloed approach, without a proper reporting mechanism or smacht for individual Departments to deliver on those actions. If there is not a properly overarching Cabinet sub-committee or a robust climate action delivery board, I worry that Departments will slip in their obligations to deliver on climate action. Respectfully, it is not enough for the Government to appear before the committee and say it is for, say, the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Deputy Madigan, to examine the rewetting of peatlands in view of the fact that we already have evidence, through our deliberations in the committee, that only 1% of peatlands in Ireland are under rehabilitation or restoration. I would like to hear the whole-of-Government approach to that rather than having to wait from the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.