All Members have been following the events this week at the UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties, COP, at which the Taoiseach made some very ambitious commitments, but will his Government's climate actions match his climate rhetoric? The omens are not good. Yesterday, he stated that Ireland will sign a pledge to reduce methane emissions by 30% before hastily adding that this was a global target rather than a national one. We hear the climate action plan contains a target of just 10% reduction. The Tánaiste also referred to that 10% figure yesterday. Can the Taoiseach explain the purpose of publicly signing up to a 30% reduction target when it seems he has no intention of even attempting to achieve that? Will the kudos that he got be short-lived and will it ultimately just make the country look like it does not take its climate action obligations seriously? If every country did this, there would be zero chance of the target being met. Can the Taoiseach just be honest and straight with people about what is actually going to be done?

Ireland has the second-highest greenhouse gas emissions per person in the EU. Agriculture and transport account for the majority of emissions at 35% and 20%, respectively. It is clear that we have to focus on those two areas. The Government itself seems riven on the plan for agriculture. The Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, insists the national herd will decrease, while Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael members have mysteriously started to use the word "stabilisation" whenever the national herd is mentioned. Which is it? Is it decrease or stabilisation?

In the context of transport, apparently the Government's climate action plan will state that car journeys need to be reduced by 25% to reach our targets. How can that happen in the absence of significant investment in public transport infrastructure? We are told that the metro project and DART+ are now not due to be delivered until 2034. Why is there such a lack of urgency from the Government in progressing large-scale projects such as these, which are absolutely essential? How credible will the Government's retrofitting scheme be, given the underperformance of the current one?

Why is the Taoiseach making commitments at COP that he copped out of as soon as the ink was dry on the agreement? Why should people have confidence in his ability to meet targets, given the lack of clarity and credibility in his existing plans? Does he have any real ambition to make the large-scale changes needed to climate-proof our economy and society?

I thank the Deputy for her comments but I have to say that she suffers from an abundance of negativity at times and seems to persistently want to undermine what are genuine and transformative decisions by this Government to step-change our response to climate change, which we have done through the climate action legislation, the establishment of the climate council in the plan and the carbon budgeting that will occur.

On the global methane pledge, the Deputy is being somewhat disingenuous. She should read the pledge and what has been signed up to. It is a global pledge, so, globally and collectively, in different ways and through different mechanisms, countries that sign up will contribute to that overall 30% global reduction in methane. As Members will be aware, methane emanates from a range of human activities, including oil and gas extraction, which we have taken steps in this House to limit.

That is bizarre-----

It is not Deputy Barry's turn. It emanates from coal mining, for example, and landfill, as well as agriculture. There are a variety of means. The pledge recognises that countries have varying methane emission profiles and reduction potential and that the energy sector globally has the greatest potential for targeted mitigation by 2030. That is why the US, which has partnered with Europe in this pledge, has singled out its oil and gas industry for particular measures in terms of leakages and so forth, and why Canada, as one of the largest oil and gas producing countries, made a specific pledge in respect of its industry in the coming decade. The positive news yesterday was that so many countries signed up to this pledge, recognising the role of methane, particularly in the shorter term, in exacerbating global warming and being a particularly concerning issue, as has been pointed to by the scientists.

There is no issue as far as I am concerned in Ireland signing up to this pledge and us then playing our part through our climate action plan, which will deal with every sector, as the Deputy stated. It will deal with energy, transport, agriculture, land use and afforestation, for example. It is quite complex in terms of the overall issue of dealing with climate change but this will represent the most detailed approach of any Government in respect of this issue. The Government is sincere about this country taking steps and playing its part in this emergency. That is reflected in our increased commitment, over and above what we committed in the programme for Government to climate finance, for example, which will be very significant for small island developing states and low-income countries. Through agriculture, we will also make our contribution to the reduction of methane and that will be outlined in the climate action plan we will publish tomorrow.

I thank the Taoiseach. I would appreciate a few specifics on this. As regards the national herd, is the Government talking about decreasing it or stabilising it? It is important that all Members are clear what the Taoiseach means when he gives commitments. It is really important that he is honest with farmers. Most farmers are perfectly reasonable. They want to know exactly what the plan is and what supports the Government is going to put in place for diversification. For example, what is it going to do about licences for forestry? That is one example of an issue that makes things so difficult for farmers. Will the Taoiseach be clear with farmers and tell us exactly what the intention is in respect of agriculture?

What exactly is the timescale for the metro project? As regards retrofitting, it is all very well setting big targets, but is the Government going to change the grant system to make retrofitting affordable for people on average incomes?

There are some fair points in terms of the delivery but it is absolutely important that we set the targets.

I ask the Taoiseach to answer the questions.

I am answering the questions. The Deputy stated that it is all well and good to set targets. It is not all well and good; it is vital to set targets----

Tell us how you will achieve them.

-----because if we do not set targets, the investment community does not have the framework within which to change tack and invest in renewables and other spheres of activity and move away from fossil fuels and other activities that generate greenhouse gas emissions. That is a very important point and should not be dismissed.

Will the Taoiseach answer the questions?

For example, in terms of the public transport initiatives, we have in the national development plan provided the resources for the metro project and a whole range of other projects. It is time to consider how some people object to everything in this country-----

Will the Taoiseach answer the questions and stop dodging? He should just answer the straight questions.

I am answering the questions. The Deputy spoke about the metro project and public transport. The biggest issue facing us in wind, for example - we nearly had a motion this week from the major party opposite on guidelines around wind-----

The Taoiseach is not answering the questions.

There is a lot of wind in this Chamber.

The biggest issue will be: are we prepared to allow offshore wind farms in this country-----

The biggest question is: is the Taoiseach serious-----

----and are we prepared to allow them properly-----

Is the Taoiseach serious about this or not?

Yes. I am absolutely serious.

Can we hear the Taoiseach without interruption?

I made that clear yesterday. When we were in opposition as a party, we supported the carbon tax, for example, even though-----

I ask the Taoiseach to answer the questions.

-----it would have been far easier for us to oppose it as an Opposition party, like the current party opposite has done.

I ask the Taoiseach to answer the questions.

We have worked to be progressive on the issue for a number of years. I am very serious about it, because we simply do not have time-----

The Taoiseach still has not answered the questions I asked.

The Taoiseach has not answered the questions.

-----as a race, to hang around any longer without dealing with climate change. We have to do it.

The Taoiseach has not answered any of the questions I asked.

I would prefer it if the Deputy was a bit more engaging and was an advocate for change, as opposed to nitpicking all the time.

Please, Deputies. This is Dáil Éireann, our national Parliament. Please let Members speak without interruption. Deputy Mick Barry has the floor.