The Green Party has accused the Government of attempting to weaken Ireland’s climate framework through the draft Critical Infrastructure Bill, warning it would undermine the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act.

Green Party Leader Roderic O'Gorman said: "The Critical Infrastructure Bill as drafted will be the death of the Climate Action Act. It will mean that major projects in areas like energy and transport - some of the biggest building projects in the State - will no longer be checked for their climate impact. The Government is in essence repealing the Climate Action Act by the back door."

He added: "This is further evidence that this Government has given up on any pretence of climate action. And it will ensure that fossil fuel continues to dominate our energy mix, just when the Iran war price-spike demonstrates the urgency of moving away from our dependence on oil and gas."

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O'Gorman also criticised the handling of the legislation at committee stage. He said: "Because the Government majority on the Oireachtas Infrastructure Committee voted to avoid the pre-legislative scrutiny process, TDs and Senators cannot even question the Government's rationale for targeting the Climate Action Act and why they believe this was the cause of delays to major projects."

Green Party Deputy Leader and Party Spokesperson on Public Expenditure, Cllr Hazel Chu added: "With this Bill, the Government is abandoning climate action. Section 7 of the bill kills the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015 and with it our hope of avoiding massive fines and devastating climate change. This bill shows the Government's lip service to climate action is nothing short of empty words and hypocrisy.

"We absolutely need to improve the delivery of key infrastructure like Housing, Public Transport, Solar and Wind Energy. However, this Bill is just another unravelling of environmental protections motivated by an ideology of slashing protections in the name of economic competitiveness. This reflects a government without any long term vision who are simply flailing around uselessly."