Green Party leader Roderic O’Gorman has claimed Government is trying to “ignore or deliberately reverse” a series of climate action policies introduced when his party was in power, despite repeated warnings of a growing climate crisis.
Mr O’Gorman outlined his view at the start of the Green Party’s annual pre-Dáil think-in at the Ashling Hotel in Dublin today.
Speaking to reporters, the Green Party leader said “every step this Government has taken has been to either ignore or deliberately reverse measures we [the Green Party] took”.
“Just yesterday it was announced that this summer was the hottest on record, and yet we have a Government which has actively tried to deconstruct the Climate Act, raided the Nature Fund, and, in September 2026, still hasn’t been bothered to publish the Climate Action Plan for this year,” he added.
Mr O’Gorman said, in his view, Minister for the Environment and Fianna Fáil TD Darragh O’Brien “isn’t even embarrassed about his foot-dragging on this [the Climate Action Plan] anymore, he’s just built that in”.
“So time and time again the steps that could be taken to reduce emissions and make a meaningful impact are being ignored,” he said.
Mr O’Gorman also raised ongoing rumours that planned carbon taxes in next month’s budget could be delayed, due in part to the ongoing fuel price crisis caused by the stand-off in the Strait of Hormuz.
He said: “the reason energy prices are high right now isn’t carbon tax, the reason is because Ireland is dependent on high-cost imported fuels”, adding that carbon tax is “ringfenced” for funding other climate-related measures.
Meanwhile, speaking at the same event, the Green Party’s deputy leader and councillor Hazel Chu said there is a need for a “moratorium” on the building of any new data centres in Ireland.
Ms Chu said this is because data centres are contributing to energy costs in Ireland, and that in her view adding more of the facilities in Ireland while “bills are adding up” is unfair on households.
Party Cathaoirleach, councillor Janet Horner, also raised this weekend’s visit of US president Donald Trump to Ireland, saying “we expect to see our supports out in force” at protests in Dublin and Clare on Saturday.
Ms Horner said Mr Trump has pushed back women’s rights in the US, cut aid throughout the world and been directly responsible for rising energy costs globally and in Ireland.
She said in her view there should be as much focus on what Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Tánaiste Simon Harris say to the US president as to what President Catherine Connolly may raise.
A number of Green Party members, including senator Malcolm Noonan, also highlighted concerns over the increase in public transport prices, describing it as “a retrograde step at the height of a cost-of-living crisis”.