Earth Day: Motion [Private Members]
Dail Éireann — 2026-04-22
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Roderic O'Gorman (GP), Dublin West

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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Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted.

Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-04-22/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:51+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-04-22