Pauline O'Reilly (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

Today, the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, issued a report on its projections for Ireland's greenhouse gas emissions. The report is stark and says that, if we follow the Climate Action Plan 2019, we will only achieve a 2% reduction per annum, far short of the programme for Government's commitment of 7%. This shows the importance of passing the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill, which is before the Seanad this week. Only by putting in place new plans and carbon budgets will we achieve what we need to, not just in terms of the planet, but also for our children, who have been calling for climate action for years. It is our duty to ensure that the months spent scrutinising the climate action Bill are taken into account and that we put in place the necessary plan by the end of this year. It is essential at this stage.

I wish everyone a happy Luxembourg day for tomorrow. I was an au pairin Luxembourg. I have been there many times. It is a beautiful country.

It appeared on my feed today that I was in Oslo for Pride two years ago. The wonderful celebrations that we had then and every year in Ireland are being felt differently this year. The Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Deputy O'Gorman, went to Waterford yesterday. He had a good reception because the majority of people in Waterford and elsewhere in the country respect diversity. It is time for us all to stand in solidarity with members of the LGBTQ+ community. I am certainly doing so today.