Kevin Humphreys (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I wish to follow from Senator Devine's theme. The report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC, was quite frightening. There was an opportunity in the budget today to do something. This Government is quite prepared to talk the talk but not to walk the walk. It is becoming a real crisis and emergency.

We only have to see what happened in our own country this year, between hurricane force winds, higher than average snow, and the drought throughout the summer with hosepipe bans. Limiting global warming to 1.5° Celsius by the middle of the century is required. Rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society are recommended by the IPCC to reach those limits.

Professor Thorne of Maynooth says the true cost of carbon is likely to be between €150 and €200 per tonne. We are at less than 10% of that, with very little action on the responsibilities that we have. We will miss the 2020 targets and probably miss the 2030 targets. This is totally unacceptable to me. The rates we are at are clearly not bringing our emissions lower. The efforts over the last two years are poor. Our emissions are growing by 2.1 million tonnes per year. We need to cut them by 1 million tonnes per year. That is quite a deficit to govern over. We have a Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport who talks about granny grants, grants for extensions, capital gains tax and everything except his own Department and its needs. Our emissions from transport are only going one way.I call on the Minister to come to the House to explain why he is an absentee Minister and not concentrating on transport.

The Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Deputy Denis Naughten, is no better. We see the figures continuing to increase. He speaks at conferences and says what he would like to do. What is stopping him? He is the relevant Minister. The Moneypoint plant is still burning coal and will continue to burn it until 2025. We will continue to have peat-fired power stations until 2030. It is time for action and less talk. We have heard about the aspirational things the Government would like to do to tackle climate change. This a First World country, yet we are struggling to deal with the impact climate change will have on the country. Every week in this House Members raise issues such as the fodder shortage. Senator Pádraig Mac Lochlainn has referred to the effects of flooding in County Donegal that have still not been put right a year later. Third World countries in Asia and Africa, including Pakistan and India, are paying the full cost of climate change. We are putting our sins on Third World countries. We must accept responsibility; we need action, not talk. I am sick and tired of listening to the Taoiseach and the Minister talking about it. It would be a success if we could have the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Shane Ross, talking about it, but he does not seem to believe he has any responsibility in tackling climate change, let alone for his Department. At the earliest possible time I would like both Ministers to come to the House to address the serious issue of climate change and the lack of action by Ireland. It is not acceptable for us to increase our emissions by 2.1 million tonnes, instead of reducing them by 1 million, to which we have committed. I look forward to the Leader coming back as early as possible to let us know when that debate will take place in the House.