Government asked how it will pay fines for carbon emissions

Ireland faces billions of euro in fines unless the Government changes policies to reverse rising carbon emissions, the Dáil has been warned. Green Party deputy leader Catherine Martin said there was a “huge gulf between the Government’s words and the Government’s action when it comes to climate change”.

The Dublin Rathdown TD referred to figures released on Thursday by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) which show that Ireland will fail to meet its target of a 20 per cent cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020, one of only two EU states not to be compliant.

The EPA also said the strategy to be de-carbonised by 2050 would be hopelessly unachievable without a radical change in policy.

Emissions are rising across all sectors, but particularly in agriculture and transport.

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Ms Martin said Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Paschal Donohoe needed to provide a “comprehensive plan” as to how he would account for the fines Ireland would have to pay for not meeting emissions requirements.

She said “this is first and foremost an environmental disaster”, but it could also be and economic one which would have a major impact on fiscal sustainability.

Public purse

During Dáil question time she asked Mr Donohoe how he was preparing for the possibility of fines of more than €5 billion “if we do not hit our emissions targets”.

Such a failure would have a serious impact on the economy “and must be accounted for in the public purse. Where will you find the money?” she asked Mr Donohoe.

The Minister insisted a “vital consideration” in any decisions the Government made “is the contribution that public investment can make towards delivering our climate objectives”.

This was one of the reasons he believed investment in fast, high-capacity public transport was so important because otherwise “our challenges will be even bigger”.

Mr Donohoe said the Government had put supports in place for prudent programmes including the renewable heat initiative and incentives for the use of electric cars.