I have a tale of two speeches for the Tánaiste that he might help me untangle. Last Wednesday, in his budget speech, the Taoiseach included a section on climate change. He said:

Climate change is not a distant threat. More and more, Ireland is experiencing at first hand its growing impacts.

He went on to say:

We have accepted challenging emission reduction targets ... and we have considerable work to do to achieve what we have committed to. We know there will be cost implications if we fall short ... We must factor these into our policy considerations.

Later, on the very same day, at the opening of Stripe's new offices, the Taoiseach said, "I don't think we can mitigate for climate change." To put this into context, mitigation is the absolute central pillar of the global response to carbon emissions. He went on to say: "If we get into a position where we’re going to challenge every single thing, saying it’s against the climate, we’re going to divide society fairly fast and we’ll then get a negative reaction against good, progressive policies that seek to address climate and very serious issues.” It is hard to reconcile these two speeches made on the same day. The mismatch between them goes to the heart of the Government's approach to climate. That the Taoiseach can speak to the physical damage to homes and communities that extreme weather events can cause and the risks of fines to our country if we do not act on the one hand and then set that up against the idea that negative reactions mean we should not progress on the other is inconsistent. Undoubtedly, winning public support and making it as easy as possible for people to reduce their emissions is vital. That is why when we were in government, the Green Party cut public transport fares, made solar panels cheaper to install and increased funding to the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland to make energy retrofits a reality for thousands.

Building support for the necessary measures our people and our country are going to have to take also requires leadership. It is the same level of transformative, risk-taking leadership that was shown by Lemass or T. K. Whitaker in the 1960s and 1970s when they transformed Irish society. However, the vision the Taoiseach articulated last week was "Careful now, do not show too much ambition" or "'Yes' to climate action, but just not yet, just not too much". We are already seeing the wasted opportunities that slow-walking approach generates, such as the removal of the ban on dirty fracked gas, the raising of the Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund and the Government's climate Minister trashing the work of the Climate Change Advisory Council. Is the Government willing to lead on climate or is it simply a Government of "just not yet"?

I have never heard the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, trashing anybody; it is generally not the way he operates. The issue is very important. The Deputy asked me to try to untangle it. In my mind it is quite clear. The Taoiseach, the Government, Members across this House and people across the country are very committed to the issue of climate action. I was sitting here beside the Taoiseach when he delivered his budget speech. I read at the time some of the coverage of his comments from his meeting at Stripe and so forth. What I very much took from what he was saying was the fact that when we are trying to accelerate the delivery of infrastructure, often including key infrastructure to help us meet our climate targets, we are living in a society where we are constantly being hit with judicial reviews and planning delays. While people have a right to do that and I respect that, it is somewhat of an irony that when we are trying to deliver projects that would assist with the climate, people take judicial reviews or planning objections on climate or environmental grounds. The frustration the Taoiseach was voicing, which I am sure some Opposition Deputies must have experienced when they were in government, was this issue of the public good versus the culture of blocking essential infrastructure. We see it in relation to water. We often see it in relation to renewable energy and major transport projects, including public transport.

That is the point that I thought the Taoiseach was making in his budget speech. He was also making the point, as we all do, that there is no rowing back or ability or wish to row back from the Government's climate commitments. We provided €1.1 billion in funding for the Department of climate in the budget. We are absolutely committed to delivering on Ireland's responsibility to address the climate crisis. I see and know he also sees huge opportunities for jobs and our economy from that transition.

The latest data from the Environmental Protection Agency regarding emissions shows that Ireland's emissions continued to fall for a third year in a row and they are at their lowest level in three decades. Emissions decreased by 2% in 2024 compared with 2023, and they decreased by 10.6% between 2021 and 2024. That happened against a backdrop of our economy thankfully growing strongly during that period. I know and acknowledge, as does the Government, that it is not at the pace required, and a 10% reduction in emissions in 2025 would be needed if we are to stay within the first carbon budget. There are real challenges and there is a real need to pick up the pace on climate action. I accept that point, as does the Government. The next phase is about acceleration, doing more and doing it faster. There is frustration across government and society that sometimes it takes so long to actually deliver projects. We need to address how we unblock those things and try to create that sense of society pulling together on the delivery of infrastructure rather than just heading to the courts or just objecting. The Taoiseach is right to try to create a public discussion and debate on that.

We have to judge a government by its deeds, not its words. When I see this Government row back on many key initiatives that were advanced over the past four years, I worry that it is quiet quitting on climate action.

Regarding the Tánaiste's Department, there is not yet clarity from the budget announced last week of how much will be specifically allocated towards climate finance. As he knows, this is money allocated to the poorest countries that are most exposed to climate disaster to take actions to save lives and livelihood. The Taoiseach, as the Tánaiste's predecessor, announced in 2021 how important it was that Ireland would do its best globally and that we would reach a target of €225 million annually for climate finance investment. We were almost there. I think it was €190 million. Can the Tánaiste give us any good news on this point? Can he confirm how much the Government is allocating towards climate finance in 2026? Will it meet the target of €225 million that the Taoiseach set?

I need to get the Deputy the exact figure, which I can do once I leave the Chamber, but yes, we will hit the target. It is an important target. I acknowledge the important role that the Deputy's part played in government, including the former Minister Eamon Ryan, as he was at that time. We are committed to it and on track to hit that target. I will get the Deputy the number for the specific allocation. We are at crucial moment in relation to climate action. There is a need to accelerate and pick up pace. There is a point about how we bring people with us. I do not think the Deputy disagrees on this. He is the leader of the Green Party. He is passionate about this and tries to bring people with him on that. How we bring people with us on the next phase will be important. If we are to make the transitions that we need to make, it will require significant delivery of infrastructure, particularly around renewables. The point the Taoiseach made publicly when he met Stripe,is not an unfair one. If we constantly get bogged down in judicial reviews and planning objections when we try to pick up the pace of delivery, that will frustrate our collective aim.