Government has no credible climate plan – Bacik
Government has no credible climate plan – Bacik - The Labour Party
Labour Leader Ivana Bacik TD has warned that this Government is presiding over a deepening climate failure, after raising the Environmental Protection Agency’s latest emissions projections directly with the Taoiseach in the Dáil today.
Deputy Bacik said:
“Families and workers across Ireland are already living with the consequences of climate failure. Parents are worried about polluted air and rising asthma rates among children. Households are spending enormous amounts on fuel, insurance and transport because reliable public transport alternatives simply do not exist. Communities want climate action that improves everyday life, lowers costs and delivers cleaner, healthier places to live.
“Today’s EPA report confirms that this Government is failing to deliver that action. Ireland is projected to achieve barely half of the emissions reductions required by law by 2030. That is a deeply serious finding. Yet the response from Government today was complacent and dismissive. The Taoiseach side-stepped the central issue in the Dáil and failed to acknowledge the scale of the challenge facing the country.
“The reality is that climate ambition has collapsed since the Green Party left Government. The 2026 Climate Action Plan has still not been published and the Minister has now confirmed it will not arrive until the third quarter of this year. Publishing a climate plan with only months left in the year is simply not credible.
“This Government is also weakening environmental protections at the very moment they are most needed. The Critical Infrastructure Bill fundamentally undermines the Climate Act by allowing major projects to bypass proper climate considerations. Labour and the Green Party opposed that legislation because climate obligations cannot simply be treated as optional when politically inconvenient.
“At the same time, the Government continues to delay the infrastructure Ireland urgently needs. Offshore wind projects are stalled, grid upgrades are progressing far too slowly, and investment in active travel has effectively been frozen in real terms for five years. This Government is trying to create a false divide between climate action and infrastructure delivery, but other countries are successfully doing both. Ireland should be too.
“Labour is calling for the immediate publication of a credible Climate Action Plan, accelerated investment in renewable energy and grid capacity, and a major expansion of active and public transport infrastructure. Climate action must be practical, ambitious and fair. Families deserve cleaner air, lower transport costs and a Government willing to plan for the future. This Government must act now.”