Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

We need a debate on climate targets and how we will deal with our emissions in this Dáil. Today, for the second year in a row, the Environmental Protection Agency has said that even if the Government implements all its policies, it will still meet only 29% of the reductions it is meant to meet, as opposed to the 51% target. What we see from this Government is spin over action. As regards the warmer homes scheme, it is taking two and a half years for people's homes to be completed. We have a Minister four and a half years into a term who is now announcing an infrastructure package and electric vehicle charging points, when there was a target and they were needed years ago to ensure people could move to EVs. We are in a crazy situation where we have so much talk, press releases and spin about what the Government is doing on climate but the reality and evidence are very different. We need the Government to move on climate action now and to commit to make sure it is doing what it says it is doing.

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