The key message coming from COP 24 is that climate change is moving faster than we are and that we have to catch up before it is too late. However, Ireland is actually going backwards. Our commitments require us to reduce our emissions by 1 million tonnes per year, but instead they have increased by 2.1 million tonnes per year.

Yesterday we got our latest climate change report card, the climate change performance index. For the second year in a row - twice under the watch of the present Taoiseach - we are ranked bottom of the class. Ireland is the worst performer on climate action in the EU. It is embarrassing, disgraceful and shameful.

Despite all the years of talk and Government announcements about the need to transition to a low-carbon economy, it has been a case of more talk and glitzy announcements than any real action. The report stated: "The long-standing lack of implementation of substantive measures to put the country on a well-below-2°C pathway results in a very low rating for Ireland’s national policy performance". That is basically a technical way of saying that Ireland may talk the talk and spin the spin, but it certainly does not walk the walk, which is the responsibility of the Taoiseach.

Leaders must lead and the people do not want to see our country continually trailing in climate action. It is an unfair reflection of their concerns. The people are way ahead of Government on this. The Government is out of sync with Irish and global concerns and the demands for real climate action. It is all well and good to produce plans, roadmaps and recommendations, but they are of no use if they are not followed and if they do not have cold hard figures to back them up. If the Government were serious about climate action, why would it launch Project Ireland 2040 when it has not been climate proofed? Everything in the plan is wonderfully vague when it comes to climate impacts. Whenever I or one of my colleagues on this side of the House asks the Taoiseach or anyone in government for information on how they plan to tackle climate change, we get the same response: that €1 in every €5 under the national development plan is being spent on climate action initiatives. However, the climate action committee has been told that 60% of that €1 in €5 is already committed energy expenditure, meaning that the €1 in €5 appears to be a sham.

Today I would like to ask the Taoiseach about the other €4 in €5. How does he know what the impact of our greenhouse gas emissions of non-climate related spending under Project Ireland 2040 will be when there are no real numbers in the plan? There are no projected emission reductions, no identification of any real climate proofing. I ask the Taoiseach to give me the number for our projected emission reductions under Project Ireland 2040. I do not want vague plans and more announcements today; I want real numbers. If the Taoiseach does not have the numbers, does he intend to do that analysis?

Only a few days ago the Environmental Protection Agency released its report on greenhouse gas emissions from Ireland in 2017, last year. We do not have the numbers for 2018 yet. The EPA report reveals that our greenhouse gas emissions last year decreased. It happened for a number of reasons, including increased generation of renewable energy and also the fact that it was a relatively warm year meaning people used less energy to heat their homes. Nonetheless our emissions reduced in 2017. We do not yet know what the story is for 2018. The report card the Deputy mentioned was prepared by a German NGO which is an advocacy and campaign organisation.

We need to make a distinction between report cards, claims and assertions made by campaign organisations as opposed to those made by official bodies such as the CSO, the UN or the EPA.

Their reports are not much better.

There is a very big difference-----

We are doing very well.

-----between official statistics and those that are calculated by an NGO or an advocacy group that has a particular agenda.

What is undeniable is that we are very much off track in terms of meeting our emissions targets for 2020 and, indeed, for 2030. It is for that exact reason that the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Deputy Bruton, has been tasked with developing an all-of-Government climate action plan. That is being developed at present and will be ready in the first quarter of next year. It will follow a similar model to the one he pursued with his action plan for education, which, everyone accepts, has helped to bring about vast improvements in education in recent years, and the Action Plan for Jobs, which helped to get us where we are today, moving from high unemployment to almost full employment.

We estimate that the implementation of Project Ireland 2040 will bring us approximately one third of the way to meeting our greenhouse gas emission reduction targets. It is only part of the solution and other solutions will also be required, including regulation, investment in technologies, taxation and behavioural change. Nobody is suggesting that Project Ireland 2040 on its own will solve climate change. We acknowledge that some projects may actually contribute to climate change, including, for example, some of the road projects listed. However, we would defend those projects because we think it makes sense to connect Cork and Limerick by motorway, connecting Limerick to Galway and other areas along the west coast.

That will not be before 2030.

When one is drawing up a national plan, one must take climate change into account and ensure that the plan is climate proofed. However, one must also take into account other considerations such as employment, living standards and balanced regional development. That is what a good Government tries to do; it tries to take into account all of the needs and concerns of people, balance them and develop a plan. That is what we have done.

I am certainly not saying that the national development plan on its own will solve climate change. It certainly will not do so when it has not even been climate-proofed, which is the main point. The EPA's recent report states that emissions have decreased. I am glad the Taoiseach accepts that this is due to the mild winter. Another reason is the reduction in fuel tourism because of Brexit's impact on the pound. The underlying trend is that we are still way off target but at least the Taoiseach has not tried to take credit for the weather, which would be a whole new level of spin. The recent reductions are certainly not due to Government action. We are 3 million tonnes off where we promised to be under European effort-sharing agreements and at the current carbon market prices, this would cost us some €60 million. That cost is only going to increase, year on year.

In terms of plans and the all-of-Government plan to which the Taoiseach referred, at this stage people are suffering from Government climate action spin fatigue and plan fatigue. Under the national mitigation plan for this year, only 21 of the 40 actions have been completed. As I said, the national development plan has not been climate proofed. The national energy and climate plan must be submitted to Europe by the end of the month but, as recently as last week, Departments were unable to outline any additional measure being undertaken to close the emissions gap.

The current national development plan is not fit for purpose. Restoring Ireland's reputation will require that the new national energy and climate action plan replaces Project Ireland 2040. This should include a new land use element which commits us to a new future for Irish farms, forestry and bogs. It should promise a radically different transport system which promotes walking, cycling and public transport ahead of road construction. Of course, we also need to divest from fossil fuels. This would ignite our economy but it requires leadership. Everybody matters in making this just transition, which is why my party has published a just transition Bill. If it can be done, it will only be done if the Taoiseach and his Government changes track and gets serious about this. The Government must lead and must prioritise tackling the most serious threat to us all.

I am sorry that the Deputy feels so spun that she is fatigued and driven to that level of cynicism and dismissiveness but we will not-----

I am fatigued with plans. I am fatigued with Government spin and plans. It is nothing but plan after plan after plan.

The Taoiseach must be allowed to speak.

The Government will not be deflected-----

From making plans.

-----by any cynicism coming from any corner of this House.

In Project Ireland 2040, we have a plan for a country which will have a population of 6 million in 2040. It is comprehensive and deals with the healthcare infrastructure we need, the new schools we need, investment in rail such as the MetroLink in Dublin, BusConnects in Dublin, Cork and Galway, improved connectivity around the country, taking coal off the grid, investing in electrifying our railways and investing in renewable energy. If the Green Party is against all those things and €100 million invested in cycling, so be it, but it is a plan we stand over.