The Green Party has hit out at the Environment Minister after he admitted Ireland would not meet its 2020 emission reduction targets.

The party said the Government has "no interest" in addressing the climate change challenge in Ireland.

Green Party leader Eamon Ryan said: "How can a Government whose policies include prioritising oil and gas exploration, increasing coal combustion by 20% in the next five years, subsidising inefficient peat-powered electricity stations, and increasing the national dairy herd by an additional 300,000 animals say we are moving in the right direction? How can they say they are taking emissions seriously while lobbying Brussels to get us exempted from EU 2030 emissions reduction targets? We are going in the wrong direction, just when the world is starting to wake up and take emissions and climate change seriously."

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(CD)