The Green Party has hit out at the Government over its new Climate Bill.

The party said the Bill is "almost worse than doing nothing" and it has "no binding targets".

Speaking following the successful passage of the bill through both Houses of the Oireachtas, Green Party Spokesperson for the Environment Malcolm Noonan said: "This Bill has no requirements for anybody to actually do anything. Every major Government policy area is going in the opposite direction than it should in this regard.

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"The Government delayed Metro North by a decade, increasing transport emissions and causing traffic chaos in our towns and cities. They have prioritised road building in their capital plan.

"They have extended the operation of peat fired power stations by 15 years, spending €120 million per year subsidising three facilities that are living on borrowed time.

"They have halved the level of retrofitting of old buildings, and weakened building standards for new builds. They have built an incinerator that we have no need for, and put in place plans to increase the national herd by 300,000.

"The heralding of this bill as proof that the Government take climate change seriously is a charade."

(CD/LM)