Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The draft EU long-term strategy on greenhouse gas emissions, which was published on 28 November, also proposes a climate neutral vision by 2050. A number of key decisions are scheduled for early next year, such as the future of the carbon tax, the report of the Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action, and the Government's cross-departmental plan, which the Minister spoke about and indicated he is moving on through, for example, meeting the assistant secretaries. Does the Minister believe that Ireland will be well placed to meet our 2030 targets earlier rather than later in the decade? As he is aware, the longer our emissions are allowed to grow in the first half of the decade, the greater the measures we will have to take in the second half. If we all agree that measures need to be taken, it is easier to progress them sooner rather than later.

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