Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)

I wish to express my condemnation of the attacks last night on the global flotilla for Gaza. Our former constituency colleague Senator Chris Andrews is among the Irish citizens on the flotilla. I urge the Minister to work with EU colleagues to ensure the safety of all those on that flotilla. It is appalling to see attacks in this way, and it is yet another example of Israel feeling it can apparently act with impunity against international law.

This week, a stark warning on climate was issued to the Government. Research by Met Éireann and Maynooth University shows that Ireland experienced extraordinarily high temperatures during the summer of 2025 with average night-time temperatures beating all previous records. This is a terrifying finding. We are seeing catastrophic effects of climate change around the world – forest fires, mudslides and floods. Despite this, certain political leaders internationally are tragically turning away from the science and are embracing climate denial and conspiracy theories. We scoff at Trump’s appalling rhetoric on climate, but here at home since the Green Party left government, we have also seen a shift. The Government is not taking climate change seriously enough. This is having real impact on people's lives. Hard-pressed households are facing impossible choices this winter while struggling to cover home heating bills due to huge hikes in fossil fuel costs. A total of 300,000 households are in arrears on their electricity bills. There is no sign of a winter moratorium on disconnections. There are still people impacted by the worst effects of climate change, such as Storm Éowyn and other storms. People are continuing to struggle with the cost of repairs. There are no big ideas on climate forthcoming from the Government. We saw the climate targets retained in the programme for Government. That was welcome. However, there was no pathway to achieve them. At the outset of the formation of this Government, there was the slashing of funds for sustainable travel, public transport, and cycling and active travel in favour of building more and more roads. The Government's policy continues to turn a blind eye to the impact of data centres on emissions, household bills and energy security. Retrofitting too often remains the preserve of the wealthy.

What we are asking for today is that the Government will give a commitment that this budget will take climate seriously and we will see serious measures adopted to invest in meeting our climate targets, making our communities more secure. We want to see the warmer homes scheme fixed so retrofitting can work for everyone. We want to see real State investment in developing renewables and rolling out offshore wind. Will the Government take climate seriously in this budget? Will the Minister give us a commitment today that it will do so?

See this speech in context