Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the statements. I acknowledge and agree with the comments from Deputy Bruton that these transition statements are probably not the best mechanism for accountability because they refer to points so far in the past and this is such a dynamic and quickly changing policy environment we are dealing with. However, it is always welcome to be able to stand here and talk about environmental issues, climate and biodiversity.

One of the major charges that is often made against politicians and Governments by scientists, NGOs and people who are passionate about this area is that there is a lot of talk but not the action that is required. It is that issue of whether we are moving from the rhetoric to action. I want to read from the speech by the Taoiseach, Deputy Martin, at the Dublin Climate Summit in May, where he said:

The challenges facing us from climate change are stark ... The truth is that not acting is not an option ... The challenge is profound. Genuine transformation is required ... we must do it quickly.

He said the Government he leads is committed to providing this leadership. I cannot disagree with a single word of what he said but the question for those in this Chamber is whether these are just words in a speech that was written for the Taoiseach or whether the Government has really taken this on board and is providing the leadership he said he is committed to, leadership not just in talking but leadership in doing.

I will first refer to the Climate Change Advisory Council review and the EPA report. Both of these entities are the watchdogs that were installed by the Government to be that mirror that can be held up to Government to see whether it is doing what needs to be done. The Climate Change Advisory Council’s last annual review in 2021 identified a significant gap between climate action policy and climate action delivery. The review emphasised the urgency of shifting from planning to action to reduce emissions and to put Ireland on track to achieve climate neutrality and resilience by 2050. The chairperson of the council, Marie Donnelly, said Ireland's failure to meet its targets is due to not matching the ambitions with plans, that is, timely and complete delivery of actions. It is clear the Government has not met, at least in the mind of the Climate Change Advisory Council, the move from rhetoric to action.

The EPA in recent weeks came out with a report that confirmed that Ireland is way off course when it comes to dealing with greenhouse gas emissions and that there is a huge gap between the ambitions of Ireland's legally binding climate Act and the actions needed to deliver on that ambition. The report highlighted that even in the unlikely event that every planned climate policy and measure outlined in the climate action plan were fully implemented on time, Ireland's greenhouse gas emissions would only fall by 28% by 2030, which is a little over half of what is required. The report states Ireland already looks to be in deep trouble. It does not bode well for this Government but the reality is it does not bode well for our country because we need this to happen, and quickly.

The EPA director general, Ms Laura Burke, was reported as saying the data shows that a step-up in both the implementation of actions already set out in plans and policies and the identification of new measures is needed.

There we have two very well respected entities saying to the Government it is not doing enough. The talk is there but the walk is not following it. I understand that many of the measures that are in place and needed are very complex and will take some time to implement. I can understand the rationale for backloading some of them. I do not like it. One of the things I said with the programme for Government was that actually it was not a programme for this Government. What was written was actually a programme for the next Government because the majority of the actions, in particular the major ones, were actions that the next Government would be expected to implement and certainly complete.

If we look at the simple things that Government can do and are in its remit, one of the most fundamental and simple things is the funding of staff within Government bodies. I raise this because I was a councillor, as were many of my colleagues here in the Dáil, and we know there has been underfunding of councils’ responsibilities over many governments. In relation to climate and biodiversity challenges, however, the requirements being placed on councils are far greater than they have ever been before. The climate action regional offices, CARO, estimates that each local authority requires nine staff members to undertake their climate role. CARO talks about needing a senior executive, a liaison person, an energy person, a climate action officer, a biodiversity person, environmental officers and a green infrastructure person, so that is nine per council. When I asked the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications how many staff had been funded in local authorities by that Department, I was told none - absolutely zero. Not even a single person in any local authority has received funding from the Department to do the functions the Department is asking of them. This comes back to the statement, “Show me your budget and I will show you what your priorities are.” When I look at the priorities of Government at the moment, I do not believe, judging by where it is prioritising its spend, it is prioritising climate or biodiversity action. If that budget is compared with the €144,000 that is being given to developers to build a single apartment, that would pay for two staff members in each local authority. I ask the Government to rethink its priorities and focus on the actions that can be simply achieved.

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