I want to draw the Minister's attention to comments made in the past fortnight by the Minister of State with responsibility for forestry, farm safety and horticulture, Deputy Michael Healy-Rae. It is really one of the first opportunities we have had to get an insight into this Government's thinking on climate and nature. The Minister of State told the Seanad during statements on forestry on 29 April:

I and my officials in the Department will look at planting more peatland. Farmers want to plant peatland. Farmers do not want to plant their green ground because they have worked so hard to get the bit they have. They broke their backs and bones to make the land green and they do not want to plant trees on it but instead use it for grazing. We want to use green ground for grazing but plant trees on rough ground and peaty ground. I am afraid that this is just one of these things on which we cannot always agree.

This was not a throwaway remark. The Minister of State came back to the topic again and reiterated the point. It is clear that he strongly believes that we must only encourage afforestation for export, that land not in service of agriculture can be directed towards this and that somehow this would be better for the environment. It is also clear that he is leading officials in his Department to develop a new policy that implements this view.

To be crystal clear for the record, a policy of planting on peatlands, which we have spent years trying to restore and preserve, would be environmental madness. Aside from it being in breach of EU law and indeed of Irish policy, it would destroy an extremely delicate and complex habitat that can provide a large and effective part of Ireland's capacity to store carbon - all of this is in order to develop cheap, quickly grown timber. UCD client scientist and lecturer, Florence Renou-Wilson, said planting on peat is, "just not a viable option for climate, for nature restoration, for anything." She continued, "Peat is a huge carbon store – a much, much better permanent carbon store than temporary forestry. [Peatlands] need to be wet to keep this carbon in."

Will the Minister please confirm whether it is the policy of the new Government to ignore science, to abandon our legal obligations and to destroy some of our best chances to capture carbon while preserving unique habitats? Has the Minister of State instructed his officials to begin implementing a new forestry plan to include planting on peatlands? If not, why is he going around telling people that this is what he has done?

It is clear that to meet the 18% forest target set out in our national forest strategy, we have a huge amount of work to do. We need to plant an additional 500,000 acres and, therefore, it is important that we continue to examine all of our lands, invest in research and make the best decisions possible. A huge amount of work has happened and more is under way to address our overall forestry targets and approach. To outline some of that progress, we have a new forestry programme from 2023 to 2027, approved by the previous Government on 6 September 2023, which the Deputy was part of, with funding of €1.3 billion. The programme provides unprecedented incentives to encourage the planting of trees as well as a range of measures to support owners of existing forests to manage their forest sustainably, forest creation measures, including native woodland expansion, and planting of small native tree areas. We have a comprehensive package of measures, including the programme, with an increase in forestry premiums of between 46% and 66%. Farmers will receive 20 years of premium payments compared with 15 years for non-farmers. We also have forestry licensing, which is a complex process due to the requirements to take account of environmental requirements, which are set out in both national and EU law. All of these measures in the programme are measures that will continue, which were supported by the Deputy and the previous Government.

Anything that we do in this regard has to be backed by and informed by science. That is not going to change. That is the approach that we have taken from the outset. It is for those reasons that we have started to see significant progress on climate. It is one of the most pressing challenges for our society. It is already causing an increased occurrence of extreme weather events, whether those are storms or flooding. We only have to look at Storm Éowyn recently, at once-disappearing lakes in County Roscommon and the midlands, which are now permanent, and the impact that it is having on homes. We have to take action and address the root causes while at the same time making sure that we prepare for the impacts of climate change. It is working. I am not saying it is working at the rate and speed that we want it to, but it is certainly working.

Looking at our emissions, the most recent inventory report from July 2024 shows a decrease of 6.8% in Ireland's greenhouse gas emissions in 2023. This is compared with 2022 when we saw a 1.9% reduction on the previous year. It is reducing further for the year coming. Where have we seen that reduction? There is a 21.6% reduction in electricity, 5.8% in industry, 4.6% in agriculture, where we are making progress, and 7.1% in residential. This is all because of the interconnection, increased renewable energy capacity, reduced nitrogen fertiliser use in agriculture, and fewer fossil fuels in our home, all at a time when last year alone we saw a 5% increase in our overall economy. Our economy is growing yet we are still managing to reduce our overall emissions. The work that has been done and the measures that have been put in place include those of the previous Government, in which we worked together collectively, but also those started by Richard Bruton when he was Minister for climate in 2019, when there was the first all-of-government climate strategy. All of this work collectively, backed by, adhering to and following science, has brought about these changes. We absolutely need to do more, which is exactly what we will do.

I appreciate the Minister's comments but we are still left with the words of the line Minister for forestry. It is worth quoting what he told the Seanad: "That is why I and my officials in the Department will look at planting more peatland." Is the Minister of State being allowed to indulge in a bit of Trump-lite, be anti-science and anti-climate, while at the same time purport to speak for the people? Instead of "Drill, baby, drill", it is "Dig, drain and destroy." Who is actually in charge of the policy here? If the Minister is not able to set that out, can she ask her colleague the senior Minister for agriculture and, indeed, the Minister of State, Deputy Healy-Rae to come before this House and explain if Government policy has changed and if it is now the policy to allow the destruction of our upland bogs?

If we are to achieve our overall targets, which we have set out clearly in law, we need to take a number of measures. I have mentioned just some of the reductions we have seen, including in energy or agriculture overall, which includes our forestry targets, and focusing on our environment, overall economy, transport and private sector.

The critical issue is that whatever we do - and I will repeat this whether it relates to agriculture, forestry or plantation - it has to be backed by science. We know that there are certain permits for planting on shallower peat soil, less than 30 cm deep. Again, where it is permitted, possible and follows the science, we must explore all avenues. We have a huge amount of work in planting 500,000 acres to be able to meet that 18% target but there are other areas in which we need to make progress as well.

We have made huge progress, with more than 50% of our energy coming from renewable energy at a certain time last March. We have a target of 80% and we need to do more to ensure we can reach that target, otherwise we are at risk of energy insecurity and the challenges that come with that.

Thank you, Minister.

This is across a number of different avenues. Our farmers, business people, those involved in transport and private economy and all of us in our homes need to make sure we are doing every single thing possible to contribute to the overall reduction so that we can achieve our targets. It is something we are committed to doing, as I know the Deputy is.