A call has been issued to Environment Minister Richard Bruton to reconsider the approach of the newly established Climate Action Delivery Board.

The Board, which met for the first time today, 16 July, will help drive forward the implementation of the Climate Action Plan which sets out over 180 actions, together with hundreds of sub-actions, to ensure Ireland is responding to the climate challenge.

A Labour spokesperson on Climate has urged Minister Bruton to introduce "outside voices" on the board to ensure updates on targets are "credible and ambitious".

Deputy Seán Sherlock said: "We need a radical shift in our drive to deliver the real and lasting actions on climate change that are required, particularly in Government. Relying on already busy civil servants to spearhead this alone is a mistaken approach I believe.

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"While I welcome the establishment of the Climate Action Delivery Board, it is in effect a dressed up and rebranded cross-Departmental working group.

"The Delivery Board includes no outside voices from NGO's or environmental groups, no reps from industry, business or agriculture nor any civil society representatives.

"Those tasked with delivering the Climate Action Plan need to regularly hear outside voices who can monitor implementation and drive accountability.

"It is the mainstay of good corporate governance on a Board to have non-executive directors who can bring specific skills, experience and specialist knowledge.

"A delivery board with no outside voices will be too siloed and as currently constituted will not be representative of the actors who will actually be carrying out the actions set out in the Climate Action Plan.

"I am calling on the Minister to reconsider his approach and bring in outside experts who can ensure the Delivery Board does what it has been set up to do, and that when it begins to publish regular progress updates, that we can be assured the reported progress is real and tangible."

(CM/JG)