Government formation: Programme is 'strongest by far on environmental issues'

The Programme for Government has been hailed as "by far" the strongest ever on climate action and environmental issues.
Government formation: Programme is 'strongest by far on environmental issues'

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The Programme for Government has been hailed as "by far" the strongest ever on climate action and environmental issues.

Friends of the Earth said that while the vision of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party was not perfect, it can put Ireland on the right path towards shedding the countries label as a "climate laggard".

"This is by far the strongest Programme for Government on climate action we have ever seen.  Is it perfect? No. Is it everything we need to do? No. But it can put Ireland on the path to implementing the Paris Agreement and shed our climate laggard label. And in some areas Ireland would become a genuine world leader," said the group's director Oisín Coughlan.

Friends of the Earth said that the Programme for Government the "best chance of a faster and fairer climate action over the next five years".

However, the Irish Offshore Operators’ Association described plans to end new exploration for offshore oil and gas and a ban on importing fracked gas or building terminals that could allow that as "virtue signalling gestures which while appealing to the Green voter, will ironically increase our emissions".

The Irish Farmers Association (IFA) said the document had positive aspects but lacks clear commitments on budgets and on how emissions targets can be achieved.

The Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association said that the Programme for Government could lead to a “new start for relationship between environmentalists and family farms but hit out at a "troubling lack of specifics" on the question of how farmers would be paid to help lower emissions, amongst other objectives.

The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) said the draft programme contains "significant advances for human rights" with the commitment to end Direct Provision and bring in a law to prevent hate crime.

However, it expressed disappointment that the "illegal and discriminatory" Public Services Card has not been scrapped.

Housing charity Threshold said the document showed a commitment to strengthening the sector and improving protections for tenants overall but expressed concern that the commitment to homelessness prevention is not accompanied by specific measures or investment.

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