I move: That Dáil Éireann: recognises that the triple planetary crises of climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss are an existential threat to humanity; notes that the 22nd of April, is Earth Day, where people around the world are called to stand in defence of the only home we share; declared a climate and biodiversity emergency, becoming the second national parliament in the world to do so, and in so doing recognised the importance of Ireland responding to these crises in 2019; further recognises that: — to address this challenge, the Government has committed to achieving a climate neutral economy by no later than 2050 and, through carbon budgets and the Climate Action Plan, to reduce by 51 per cent the annual greenhouse gas emissions reported for 2030 compared to 2018; — these commitments are underpinned by the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015, amended and strengthened in 2021, which acts as a foundation for the State's climate policy, and provides the legal basis for Ireland's climate ambitions; — biodiversity targets are driven by Ireland's 4th National Biodiversity Action Plan 2023-2030 (NBAP), which aims to meet international commitments, including 30 per cent protected land and marine areas by 2030, this plan is on a statutory footing, and public bodies have a duty to contribute to these targets; — achievement of these ambitions requires a Whole-of-Government approach to the decarbonisation of the energy system, the provision of electrified public transport at scale, the retrofitting of Ireland's building stock, and the development of new renewable energy sources; — the ongoing crisis in the Middle East has demonstrated that the objective of affordable, secure and decarbonised energy cannot be met through importation of fossil fuels, which are carbon intensive and subject to rapid price shocks; — in confronting the fact that 29 per cent of Irish households are in energy poverty and hundreds of thousands of electricity and gas customers are in arrears, we must ensure that in moving to a net-zero Ireland we adhere to the principles of the Just Transition Commission, and must reach those furthest behind first; — energy crises disproportionately impact the most marginalised, including one parent families, carers, disabled people, members of the Traveller community, and older people are driven by an energy system that is too reliant on expensive imported fossil fuels; and — climate change and its consequences are and will continue to have profound effects on human health and the wellbeing of future generations; notes, with concern that: — the Minister for Climate, Energy, and the Environment has indicated that the Government will miss its 2030 emissions reduction target by half, and has provided no emergency plan to reverse this trajectory; — the Environmental Protection Agency, in preparing its latest emissions projections, found that the Government had not included any significant new policies or measures in the Climate Action Plan 2025, to close the gap in meeting 2030 climate targets; — relevant Government Ministers have not yet fulfilled their duties under the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Acts to attend the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate, Environment and Energy, and outline corrective measures to meet sectoral emissions ceilings; — the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council and the Climate Change Advisory Council published a joint peer-reviewed analysis in 2025, indicating a potential €8-€26 billion in compliance costs for Ireland through missing climate targets; — the Government has proposed legislation that will fundamentally undermine the functioning of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act, by exempting carbon intensive projects from scrutiny under that Act; — the Government intends to increase Ireland's reliance on fossil fuels through the creation of a State-owned Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal which will be reliant on imported gas and subject to geopolitical price shocks far beyond the State's control; — the enabling legislation for a State-owned LNG terminal, the Strategic Gas Emergency Reserve Bill 2025, seeks to pre-empt scrutiny of this project under Section 15 of Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act, suggesting that the Government understands that it is not compliant with Ireland's climate targets; — an LNG terminal will lead to locked-in fossil fuel industry expansion that does not align with Ireland's binding climate obligations; — a similar provision in the Dublin Airport (Passenger Cap) Bill 2026 suggests that the Government is placing the interests of airlines ahead of the need for a healthy environment and climate action; — the newly published Critical Infrastructure Bill 2026 will allow the wholesale exclusion of carbon intensive projects from scrutiny under the Climate Action Act; — despite a target of 5 gigawatts (GW) of new offshore wind energy by 2030 under the Climate Action Plan, no new offshore wind projects have been delivered, and the projects currently planned amount to less than 5 GW; — the Government is due to fall well short of its retrofitting targets of 500,000 residential retrofits and the deployment of 400,000 heat pumps by 2030; — the National Development Plan Review 2025 has reversed the previous Government's policy of providing a ratio of 2:1 investment in public transport over new roads, which will undermine plans to improve public transport and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the transport sector; — rapid growth in the number of data centres in Ireland has created significant induced demand for electricity, which will eliminate the net positive effect of new renewables projects and lead to increased energy prices for ordinary households; — the Government has raided the €3.15 billion Climate and Nature Fund to plug holes in its infrastructure budget; — the Marine Protected Areas Bill has yet to be published; — the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, has disbanded its climate division; — funding for farmers to implement the NBAP is wholly inadequate; — the Final Report for Phase 2 of the National Land Use Review has been with the Minister for Climate, Energy, and the Environment, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the Minister of State at Housing, Local Government and Heritage almost a year and is still not published; — the Government has not fully met its legal obligations under the Climate Act as emissions limits do not account for the Land Use, Land Use Change, and Forestry sector; — the Government has not yet addressed the recommendations of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate, Environment and Energy regarding the preparation and delivery of Carbon Budgets 3 and 4 (2031-2040); and — the Climate Action Plan 2026 has been significantly delayed and is still not yet published; and calls on the Government to: — re-commit to the legally binding target of 51 per cent emissions reduction by 2030; — remove any provisions from draft legislation that limits the effectiveness of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act; — implement the recommendations of the Independent Advisory Committee on nature restoration and to adequately fund Ireland's Nature Restoration Plan; and — protect vulnerable households from the ongoing fossil fuel price crisis through new targeted supports and safeguards, by speeding up access to home energy upgrades, and by ensuring that Ireland develops its own secure and clean renewable energy. Today, 22 April, is Earth Day, a day that has been marked since 1970. For 56 years, people around the world have used this date to speak for and act for environmental protection around our planet. It is appropriate, therefore, that on Earth Day this House supports the motion I am proposing and delivers a powerful message. The energy crisis is the climate crisis. On behalf of the Green Party, I am proposing this motion as people across our country experience the consequences of another global spike in the prices of energy. The origins of this energy price crisis is our country's over-reliance on fossil fuels. The war in Iran has, for the second time in four years, shown how our economy is at the mercy of the whims of Trump, Putin, Netanyahu and of the Ayatollah. Ireland needs to be able to generate its own energy so we can make our own choices. The only way to achieve true fuel security in Ireland is to stop importing it. Our country will remain vulnerable to energy shocks until we transition our entire economy onto renewable sources of energy. Countries that have already taken this step to move to renewables have economies that are better placed to cope in the current crisis and are therefore better able to protect their own people from the worst of the energy price spike. In Spain, renewable energy now generates 50% of the country's electricity coming from wind, hydro, and, increasingly, from solar. Spain has seen dramatic growth in the use of solar power in the past six years. This is one of the contributing factors to Spain having the lowest wholesale electricity prices within the EU. This solar revolution did not come about naturally and simply as a cause of Spain enjoying a sunny climate. For decades, solar supplied only a minor part of the country's electricity. However, following the Ukraine invasion in 2022, the Spanish Government, recognising its vulnerability to international energy shocks, took a deliberate policy decision to reduce its dependence on imported gas and move much of its economy towards renewables. In Demark, over 83% of the country's electricity is generated from renewable sources: wind, bioenergy and increasingly solar. Interconnection with other Nordic countries provides an additional layer of protection. These countries have shown that governments can lead the fight on decarbonisation but at the same time create energy independence for their economies and leave all their citizens better off. Yet, over the past 15 months, the Government has demonstrated that it does not possess the belief in this transition to make the case for it convincingly to the Irish people. Therefore, on a national basis, what should Ministers be doing to progress this transformation of our energy systems? First, the Government needs to speed up the delivery of the offshore wind farms that were successfully bid for during the term of the previous Government. An Coimisiún Pleanála and the Maritime Area Regulatory Authority, MARA, need to be given additional expert staff so they can more quickly process and decide on applications for offshore winds and for large-scale solar arrays. The Government also needs to speed up investment and delivery of improvement in our ports. Right now, Belfast is the only port on the island capable of supporting the construction of offshore turbines. This has to change. We need to develop Cork and Rosslare ports so they can support the delivery of offshore wind but also that they can enjoy the benefits of the support industries and the economic development that will gather around sites where electricity generated by wind is brought onshore. We need big and bold actions. The urgency with which we need to protect Irish households from this energy price shock, and the next one that probably is not far down the road. Over the past two months the Government has allocated over €750 million in new emergency spending to deal with the energy crisis. While this money is needed to protect households and businesses from the current crisis, not one cent of that money works to protect or prevent either our economy nationally or individual households from experiencing a similar price spike the next time there is a global emergency. A total of €750 million spent and it is all entirely reactive, entirely short-term and in no way changes or reduces our vulnerability. I want to make three suggestions about what this bold action could look like. The Green Party proposes a new fully-free solar programme for all households in receipt of the fuel allowance. Eight solar panels will be provided to each home. This will mean solar will reach the most vulnerable households more quickly. It will reduce their energy bills at a time we know they can be subject to rapid price shocks. Investing €400 million a year for five years, which is about half the cost of the package that was agreed last week, would provide free solar energy to hundreds of thousands of energy-poor households. Second, we propose that the Government creates a social leasing scheme for electric vehicles, EVs, for essential workers. This will be based on a scheme operated by the French Government over the past two years. As a social leasing scheme, it would operate where small-scale electric cars would be leased on a five-year basis by the State to essential workers who need to drive to work or have limited transport alternatives. This model, with the State making an initial contribution to reduce the monthly cost, would remove what we all recognise as the biggest barrier to EV uptake, namely, high upfront costs. An upfront investment of €500 million, about two-thirds of what was agreed in the emergency package signed off last week, would deliver 70,000 small electric vehicles under this scheme. These schemes are not cheap. Activating them would mean upending our spending plans this year and next year, and I am sure it would cause a couple of furrowed brows on officials of the Department of public expenditure as well. However, at a time we are in the enviable situation to be one of a small number of European countries reporting a significant budget surplus, that we would go through a second energy crisis, again driven by our dependence on imported fossil fuels, and not take big and bold action to reduce our dependence, would be a failure to act as an act of national self-sabotage. We must acknowledge that the climate crisis is the energy crisis and that the solutions are not cheap but understand that once those solutions are invested in, they can bring immediate savings to hard-pressed households, will lessen our energy insecurity and have the added benefit of decarbonising our economy. Our third proposal does not require major State expenditure. Over the past number of months, the Green Party and I have been urging the Government to allow for the deployment of plug-in solar in Irish homes and to take what steps that are needed to resolve any safety concerns related to it. In March, in response to the current energy crisis, the UK Government announced it would make plug-in solar panels available to British households. These easy-to-install panels have become commonplace in Germany. Over 1 million units have been installed. They are sold by major retailers. They are affordable and are easy to install. They can be used in apartments that cannot have rooftop solar and in rental properties as well. We know these panels could save people money on their bills now in the midst of an energy crisis. I asked the Taoiseach about this issue last month. I have questioned the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, on a number of occasions yet there is still no clarity on how or when any technical issues regarding the large-scale deployment of plug-in solar in Ireland will be addressed. The actions needed to shift our economy to renewables are not only taken at State level. Communities are coming together to fill the gap Government inaction has left. The Ennis Environmental Action Group has led a voluntary public information campaign to inform neighbours and friends about the grants available under SEAI schemes. This work has led to a 2.6-fold increase in applications to the warmers homes scheme in that area. This sort of effective peer-to-peer sharing of information is helping to better spread information, but also break down preconceived notions about these schemes. At a time we know people are looking to better understand how the retrofit process works, I ask the Government to look at what the Ennis Environmental Action Group did and how it was able to make the case for transition within its community. The argument for changing our economy to run on renewables is no longer just an environmental one. The cost-of-living consequences of sticking with imported oil and gas should not be borne by another generation of Irish householders. The energy crisis is the climate crisis and as a country, we have the natural resources to allow us to produce renewable energy at scale-----

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-----and right now we have the financial resources to support the development of these new industries.

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Let us not wait until the next war or the next fuel crisis; let us act now.

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I thank Deputies for their contributions to this debate, particularly those Deputies who indicated their support for my motion. In the effort to try to find a bit of common ground among Deputies who disagreed, I was delighted to hear Deputy Michael Collins speak about supporting one of his constituents who is trying to move transport and heavy goods vehicles, HGVs, onto a battery source. I recommend the Deputy look at the zero-emission heavy duty vehicle purchase grant scheme that is in place. In my time as Minister, I had the opportunity to take part in the launch of a number of heavy-duty vehicles being done by ATC Computer Transport and Logistics. It turned approximately 10% of a large heavy-duty vehicle fleet to electric vehicles. It can be done. I am delighted to see Deputy Collins advocating for that in his constituency. I am afraid my efforts to find common ground cannot extend quite as far as aligning myself with Deputy Danny Healy-Rae’s version of history and science. There is only so much we can do in one day. I thank the Minister of State for his contribution. I am disappointed the Government is not prepared to accept the motion the Green Party has put forward and is instead tabling a countermotion, which frankly refuses to acknowledge the very real setback in climate action we have seen under this Government. There is serious denial on the Government benches around the scale of the challenges we face in Ireland. The attitude is that the foot can be taken off the pedal now that it does not have to deal with the Green Party at the Cabinet table. At the very centre of this Government approach is the unambiguous statement by the Minister for climate and energy that Ireland will miss its 2030 emissions targets by half and the fact he has provided no emergency plan to seek to address that or reverse that trajectory. The climate consequences of that failure, of not reaching these targets, will have very real consequences for our economy as well. The Irish Fiscal Advisory Council and the Climate Change Advisory Council published a joint paper indicating the costs for Ireland as a potential range of €8 billion to €26 billion in compliance costs for missing climate targets. Even if we took the lowest end of that range, €8 billion, out of our budget in a year, that is a surplus wiped out. The comfort we enjoy now in terms of being able to deal with emergencies - for example, Covid, the Ukraine war and responding to the Iran war - that is being put at risk by our country's and our Government's failures to take the actions that will avoid these fines. What is particularly infuriating is that on this issue the Government is waving the white flag four years before the target deadlines come in. I do not know of any other targets set by the Government where it would be seen as acceptable for the Government to give up four years in advance. What the Government needs to do now is rapidly publish a climate action plan, fully align it to next carbon budget cycle and set out the additional measures, new measures and extra measures that will get Ireland back on track for our 2030 targets. In his speech earlier, the Minister of State, Deputy O'Sullivan, had a bit of a go at me because I did not reference nature and biodiversity in my initial ten-minute speech. Funnily enough, I was going to give him a little compliment in terms of a bit of good news yesterday in the context of his Department. Yesterday, my colleague, Senator Malcolm Noonan, recognised it was World Curlew Day. That was celebrated because we are finally seeing some breeding pairs come back to various parts of Ireland led by the NPWS. I was going to acknowledge the Minister of State's role in that. However, if he is not giving any space, I am not going to give it either. That good news is reflected at a time when we also know there is a major crisis in terms of migratory birds. The number of migratory birds coming to Ireland has decreased rapidly in the past 30 years. A number of species have been particularly impacted. I suggest to the Minister of State, Deputy O'Sullivan, that rather than taking cheap digs that he looks at what he is not doing in his Department and looks at funding for farmers and nature-based solutions. That is funding had been put aside in the Climate and Nature Fund. There was €3.15 billion to deal with these kinds of issues and particularly to provide funding to farmers. We must recognise that if we are going to ask farmers to take nature-based solutions on their land, we have to pay them for that. We have to ensure new income streams are being provided. That money is gone because the Climate and Nature Fund was raided. Some €700 million of that, which was available to fund nature-based solutions that would have had a huge impact on biodiversity in our country, is not available anymore. That should be the focus of the Minister of State's work. This House declared a climate and biodiversity emergency in 2019. I wish to emphasise the word "emergency". It was more than justified when we consider the scale of the risk to every person that climate change and biodiversity loss poses. In declaring an emergency, this House also took on the responsibility to respond to that emergency with action. The previous Government - the Government I was part of - took that responsibility seriously. We implemented ambitious targets. We passed the landmark climate Act. We funded the infrastructure we need to make that transition to a net zero economy. The Government is not treating this emergency with the seriousness it deserves, and worse, it is undermining the very mechanisms that have been put in place and that will allow us as a society to respond. No amount of hand waving away, in the context of the amendments to the motion, can change the fact the Government is undermining the climate action Act, defunding public transport and giving up on climate and biodiversity targets. In tackling an emergency, sometimes the scale of the problem seems so large that it is difficult to make it tangible and make it real in the context of daily lives. However, this is not one of these times because the madness that we are seeing in the Middle East has made the climate emergency all too real for every one of us in Ireland. The energy crisis we face is a fossil fuels crisis. Many of us grew up hearing about the oil price crises of 1973 and 1979. Now, our generation is experiencing the second energy price crisis in four years. It is the second caused by a war in another part of the world and the second caused by the whims of an unstable political leader. We can free ourselves from the position of vulnerability we are in. There is only one viable long-term solution to avoid these energy shocks and that is for Ireland to produce its own abundant renewable energy on our own terms. However, there is a lack of urgency and a lack of determination to address these challenges at pace by this Government. This lack of belief is translated into a failure to be able to convincingly make the case for this transition to the Irish people. Now, too often we see the opposite. We see an effort to scapegoat climate action for wider difficulties in the delivery of infrastructure. I wish to conclude on the message that change in how we power our economy and our society can happen. Our European partners have shown that it can be delivered at speed and the benefits that accrue to the populations of those countries. This evening, the Green Party will join with other political parties and civil society groups outside the gates of Leinster House to remind the Government, which seeks to vote this motion down, that Ireland needs real climate action. The energy crisis is a consequence of the climate emergency. It is time for the Government to act. Let us establish our energy independence. Let us protect Irish households from high fuel bills into the future. Let us take that huge step towards meeting our climate and biodiversity targets.

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