Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The concern among constituents is that the most vulnerable households are affected. The report notes from its own research that 28% of households suffer energy poverty. How can we decarbonise energy if it is to be left to ordinary individuals? The Taoiseach has been flinging around figures such as €50 billion for what the decarbonisation effort will cost. Nobody seems to know.

Does the national energy and climate plan have to be agreed with the European Commission? Does that have to happen this year?

Has any work been done on the five-year carbon budget or the establishment of a carbon action council? The key figure which is cited each night in the debates for the European Parliament election is the proposed increase in the price of carbon from €20 per tonne to €80 per tonne. For example, what should the Committee on Budgetary Oversight and all other sectoral committees be doing now to get ready? Will the Minister bring forward proposals on carbon and the key areas of the economy we need to address like agriculture and transport?

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