First, on behalf of all of the Social Democrats, I extend a very warm welcome back to Deputy Boyd Barrett. It is great to see him back.

We are hurtling towards a catastrophe. A new UN report published as COP30 is about to begin makes that clear. Plans to limit global warming to 1.5°C have failed. That threshold will be breached in the next decade. We are now on course to see temperatures rise by 2.3°C to 2.5°C. This is an existential threat to our very existence on this planet. Too many world leaders either do not recognise this threat or refuse to take it seriously. We know that 1.5°C of warming will have unthinkable consequences. It will lead to increased drought, famine, flooding and countless deaths. It will see large-scale food insecurity, increased migration and economic shocks. The world will become an even more unstable and dangerous place.

Even the EU, which claims to want to counter this threat, is failing miserably. This morning, member states agreed to cut emissions by 90% by 2040. However, this comes with a broad acceptance that 2030 targets will be missed by a country mile. That is the stark difference between climate rhetoric and climate action and it is something the Government is guilty of too. The Government said it would reduce emissions by 51% by 2030. Then, incredibly, it put forward measures that could at best add up to a reduction of only 23%. Shamefully, zero offshore wind is being generated, with none likely in 2030 either. Our waterways are choked with pollution, primarily from agriculture run-off and wastewater. None of us has to look very far to see the impact of the climate crisis.

In my own local area, Bantry was once again hit by floods yesterday, devastating homes and businesses that have barely recovered from floods last October. The long-promised culvert works to protect the town will not even begin until next year. This Government tells us that it is taking the climate crisis seriously.

I wish I could sound more hopeful about this, but what we and future generations are facing is truly frightening. We need to recognise it and address it because soon we will reach a tipping point, which will mean abrupt and catastrophic consequences that cannot be reversed. We still have time to act but only if plans are turbocharged, fast-tracked and, crucially, implemented. The current approach is not working. What new measures and emergency options is the Government going to take to meet our climate targets before it is too late?

I share the Deputy's concern, as I know everyone in this House does, about the ongoing climate crisis. The work ongoing at COP at an EU level is all to ensure the European Union continues to show leadership when it comes to domestic policies but also to be responsible internationally when lots of world leaders and countries are backsliding on climate action. The work the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, has done in the context of budget 2026 and the funding he has secured for his Department is all about trying to accelerate Ireland's energy transition and to underpin our journey to a net-zero future. It includes record funding of over €500 million for home energy upgrades and solar PV. This will help make homes warmer, healthier, more comfortable and less expensive to heat.

It is the most pressing change in our society. We have seen in the Future Forty report the huge risks that will crystallise if we do not take action now on climate change. That is why it is central in the work we have done as part of the national development plan review. We have prioritised critical sectors in our economy.

When it comes to energy, for example, that is why €3.5 billion of an equity injection is being given to ESB and EirGrid, all to accelerate the need to build a grid that can match the renewables that we want to see onshore and offshore. It is also the work we are doing when it comes to reform of infrastructure in our economy. The report will be published in the coming weeks to try to enable much greater acceleration of renewables across the board.

We are absolutely committed to addressing the climate crisis. We also need to be resolute in the work the Minister of State, Deputy O'Sullivan, is doing in protecting our nature and biodiversity. We need to prepare in terms of climate resilience as well. It is not only action in terms of the emissions profiles but also ensuring our critical infrastructure is protected and is more resilient for extreme and adverse weather events which are happening.

The 2024 data from the EPA showed that Ireland's emissions continue to fall for the third year in a row and are at their lowest level in three decades compared with 1990 levels. Ireland's emissions decreased in 2024 and have decreased by 10% from 2021 to 2024. That is against a growing economy. If you take our comparators with many of the European economies that have populations which are relatively flat, or economic growth which is relatively flat, we have had extraordinary economic and population growth and we are still managing to reduce our emissions profile overall.

What the Government is focused on is delivering a just transition for communities, enabling opportunities through the action we are taking in terms of climate change and focusing on the huge opportunity that renewable energy represents. I mention the work that is being done to build a grid that can be connected to that renewable energy as it is being advanced through the respective processes.

It feels like I may as well be talking to the wall. We are nowhere near reaching our targets. It does not feel like the Government really understands the consequences of that. The Minister is talking about the huge amount of work on offshore wind but the reality is we generated more energy from wind 20 years ago. The climate crisis could not be more serious, and it is very obvious that it is not being taken seriously by this Government. There are no new ideas or no meaningful attempt to address it. There is absolutely no ambition. Climate action could be an enormous opportunity for Ireland. We could be leading the way. We could be developing offshore wind potential and become a net exporter of energy. We could be held up as the example of sustainable agriculture and food security.

Instead, it is business as usual. There has been no action on offshore wind. The Government is trying to hang on to the nitrates derogation for dear life and, predictably, we are about to miss our emission targets again. Target after target is being missed. You would have to wonder what is the actual point of Government targets, whether for housing, spinal surgery, emissions, you name it. They only exist in the Government's PR strategies. The Government's clear pattern is to promise everything, do nothing and then blame everybody else. Will the Minister please tell me what the Government is going to do to turn this around? Take responsibility and tell us what the Government is going to do to meet its emission targets.

Last January, Ireland hit a really important milestone of hitting 5 GW of installed onshore wind capacity. That is significant progress towards our 2030 target. We were ranked second in the world in 2023 for onshore wind generation.

We have no auctions. None.

A significant amount of auctions have happened for offshore wind generation, as the Deputy is aware. They are working their way through their respective development processes. What we are trying to do is to accelerate that so we can deliver greater offshore renewable energy.

Part of the problem with bringing people with us on climate change is reflected in the Deputy's remarks on farmers and agriculture. The Deputy has attacked the nitrates derogation. There was a meeting of 2,000 farmers in Fermoy, Cork earlier this week. They desperately want and need to hold onto that derogation. They are making massive efforts at farm level to make that transition and to build sustainable food systems. I am sure many of the farmers in west Cork would not welcome the Deputy's remarks, which will put them out of a livelihood.

The Government is leading them to a cliff edge.

If we weaponise climate action, as the Deputy has done-----

Minister, time is up.

-----we will not be able to take the climate action that centrist politics needs.

I call Deputy Boyd Barrett.

You need to work with farmers, with the agricultural community-----

Minister, time is up.

-----in supporting their transition rather than weaponising the derogation.

Minister, respect the Chair. Time is up.

So disingenuous.