Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)

The Government has achieved something no one previously thought possible when it comes to climate. Last year, our forests released more carbon than they stored. That is according to the Climate Change Advisory Council. The Government has turned our forests into carbon emitters. Its record is unbelievably bad. It is so bad that it is hard to fathom. The Government has no plan to remedy what is happening. Quite the opposite; it wants to double down on failure. The Taoiseach put Michael Healy-Rae in charge of forestry, and his big plan is to plant forests on peatland. That would have absolutely catastrophic consequences. This is meant to be the low-hanging fruit. All the Government has to do is encourage people to grow trees, and it cannot even get that right. What hope do we have of doing the hard stuff like wind farms and offshore wind? Does the Taoiseach realise that 20 years ago we were actually producing more wind energy than we are now? In 2030, there will be zero offshore wind energy produced by Ireland. We are hurtling towards disaster. Will the Taoiseach please tell me-----

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