Grace O'Sullivan (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State was in Katowice yesterday to hear scientists and communicators, such as David Attenborough, warn global leaders of the gravity and scale of the climate crisis we face. I was here in Ireland and I felt like crying when I heard the words of Sir David Attenborough. Global warming is happening, and has been happening for the last number of decades and action is required now.

The Joint Committee on Climate Action has been holding hearings with officials from the Minister's Department and other Departments over the last few weeks. It is hard to believe that we are talking about the same global climate crisis. The subtext from the Departments is one of "business as usual". No big changes are being put on the agenda. Details and figures are missing. David Attenborough warned us, including the Minister, that humanity faces the greatest threat it has faced in thousands of years. If we do not take action, the collapse of our civilisations and the extinction of much of our natural world is on the horizon. That includes us.

That is the message the Government is failing to hear. I do not care that seven Ministers were here. Overall, this Government is failing to hear the cry of nations on the plight of climate change. At our committee, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform acknowledged that the national development plan was adopted without assessing its impact on the climate. Project Ireland 2040 has no climate consideration added whatsoever. We have a project that has not taken cognisance of the plight and impact of climate change. The Secretary General of the Department of Finance told us that no one had asked him to design a €100 carbon tax. This was six months after the citizens of the Citizens' Assembly expressed its willingness to pay increased carbon tax.

David Attenborough also spoke about what citizens are saying globally. The world's people have spoken. Their message is clear. Time is running out. They want the Government, the decision-makers to act now. They are supporting the Government in making tough decisions. They are also willing to make sacrifices in their daily life. I and my family are prepared to do it. The people at a public meeting in the Midleton Park Hotel last night are prepared to do it.

I received the Minister's annual transition statement this morning and I will be studying it over the coming days. A quick look at it has told me that despite acknowledging how badly we are doing, climate change is still very low in the Government's priorities. In the update report I read, throughout 2017 and 2018, Departments and agencies were to deliver 41 actions under the national mitigation plan. Of those 41 actions, 21 were completed. The remaining 20 actions are under way but have been delayed, giving a completion rate of 51%.The Minister of State and his predecessor have both acknowledged that the national mitigation plan is not sufficient to meet our targets. The Minister of State has now admitted that half of the actions which were supposed to have been completed at this point are still outstanding. Tomorrow, we will hear from the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, as to how we are doing in the context of reducing our greenhouse gas emissions. Unfortunately, there is very little prospect of good news. Ireland continues to be a climate laggard and there is no doubt that our 2017 emissions are part of an upward trend. I hope we will see the Minister of State at the meeting of the joint committee tomorrow at which we will discuss this. I take this opportunity to inform him that people are sick and tired of the lack of real action on the part of the Government.