€3.3bn climate investment gap must be plugged
€3.3bn climate investment gap must be plugged - The Labour Party
- Tackle creaking water infrastructure
- Invest in street-by-street retrofitting programme
- Support legislation for a Future Generations Commissioner
- Time for short-termism is over
Labour’s climate spokesperson Ciaran Ahern TD has urged Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil to put climate and environmental measures at the heart of Budget 2026.
Speaking during Leaders’ Questions in the Dáil today, Deputy Ahern said this Government is failing to grasp the low hanging fruit to help families and protect our planet.
Deputy Ahern said:
“There’s no doubt that Fianna Fáil Minister Darragh O’Brien has thrown in the towel when it comes to taking the systemic action that’s needed to implement change for our climate. His approach to politics didn’t work in housing, and it won’t work in climate either.
“Just last week during an Oireachtas Committee the Minister spectacularly waved the white flag saying that the best we can hope for is to get about halfway to meeting our 2030 emission reduction targets. It’s outrageous. The Programme for Government makes little to no reference to tackling the global crisis, and research shows that the Irish public feel hamstrung by Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil’s inaction and delay in providing even the most basic measures to allow them to engage in climate action.
“It’s taken 8 years and counting to get some new bus lanes put in, people don’t feel able to switch from petrol or diesel cars to EVs because the infrastructure just isn’t there, and our public transport system is already at capacity.
“The month of June has been wetter than normal, yet because of our creaking water infrastructure, we’re losing almost 40% of our treated water. We’re facing water restrictions in a country where it can sometimes feel like it never stops raining because our water infrastructure just isn’t fit for purpose. Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil can’t even get the basics right.
“Labour proudly campaigned during the General Election to climate proof our economy, heat people’s homes and reduce people’s bills through a street-by-street retrofitting scheme backed by green loans, rather than the current grant system which is essentially restricted to well-off households with significant savings.
“Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil better pull out all the stops with the new National Development Plan to ensure that we have infrastructure in place to deal with the consequences of climate change, as well as moving us to a more carbon neutral economy. That will require investment in public transport, in retrofitting, in helping people make the changes that they want to make.
“They must also come to the table and support legislation for a Future Generations Commission who will challenge the short-termism that we’ve seen from successive governments, and embed future thinking across this Government.
“Minister O’Brien needs to stop with the politics of short-termism and wake up to the reality of his brief. Let’s grasp the opportunities that are there, address the challenges that are holding us back and look forward to a better future for all.”