Mary Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I refer to climate change and climate action. Climate change is all around us and is happening all the time and everywhere. Last week, the sixth report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC, was issued and has been described as the final warning. We all need to think about the kind of legacy we want to leave to our children and grandchildren. If we want to leave them a liveable planet, the report is telling us that the time for action was yesterday, last week and last year. We are increasingly reaching the point where it will be too late to act.

Will the Leader address this matter with the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications? It is recognised internationally that Ireland has comprehensive climate legislation with legally binding targets. That is welcome. However, our emissions remain too high. The second-largest proportion of carbon emissions in this country comes from the built environment. There must be support for those of us who are trying to reduce our carbon footprint in our homes. I am increasingly receiving complaints from homeowners who are trying to take climate action by retrofitting their homes that delays on the part of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI, are preventing them from doing so. The latest reply I have from the SEAI indicates that the average waiting time from application to completion of works is two years. As I said, we should have been taking action yesterday, last week and last year. I would appreciate if the Leader would ask the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, to respond to this issue with urgency and to work with the SEAI to accelerate the timelines in order that homeowners, particularly those who are trying to avail of the free energy upgrade scheme, can reduce their carbon footprint.