Green Party Leader Roderic O'Gorman has responded to the latest report from the Climate Change Advisory Council (CCAC), which warns that Ireland is set to exceed its first carbon budget by 10 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent.

O'Gorman described the findings as a "wake-up call" for the government, highlighting the continued reliance on fossil fuels as the main barrier to reducing emissions. He said:

"Today’s report from the Climate Change Advisory Council has to be a wake up call for the Government. The CCAC has identified the continued role of fossil fuels in our economy as the biggest block to reducing our emissions. Yet the new Government has reversed the ban on LNG and is now welcoming fracked gas as part of our energy mix. Just when the absolute focus should be on making the switch to renewables, the Government is doubling down on expensive, imported fossil fuels."

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O’Gorman added: "There is a cost to the Governments flawed strategy. Ireland’s fossil fuel addiction remains a huge risk to affordability. It leaves Irish consumers hugely exposed to the spikes in gas and oil prices, like those that were seen in the wake of the Ukraine war. So long as so many households in Ireland are dependent on gas or on electricity generated from natural gas, they are left at the mercy of turbulence on the international energy markets."

Green Party Climate and Energy spokesperson Ossian Smyth also commented ahead of this weekend’s National Climate Demonstration in Dublin: "This weekend, the National Climate Demonstration takes place in Dublin. Its focus is on Ireland’s dependence on fossil fuels and how, by speeding up a switch to renewables, hundreds of thousands of Irish households could benefit from cheaper energy prices, protecting them from cost of living pressures."