UNSIGNED PREVIEW — not a promoted public release.
Actor: Micheál Martin
insufficient_evidenceTopic: housing
Office: Taoiseach
Evidence: 13 events
Sources: 13
This promise by Micheál Martin has INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE for a rating. Only 13 evidence events were found. More research is needed before a reliable assessment can be made.
This promise is SPECIFIC (vagueness score: 20/100). It includes measurable targets or deadlines that make it trackable. Specific promises are easier to verify as kept or broken.
Issue category: housing
The Irish coalition government (Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, Green Party) formally agreed on July 28, 2022 to set the sectoral emissions ceiling for agriculture at a 25% reduction by 2030 compared to 2018 levels, with a binding carbon budget of 202 MtCO₂eq.
People Before Profit criticised the government's cost of living measures as 'woefully inadequate' and called for a €500 electricity credit funded by a levy on data centres.
Paul Murphy TD advocated for a €500 universal energy credit and questioned why data centres pay half the price ordinary people pay for electricity.
EPA data shows agricultural emissions decreased by 4.9% (1.07 Mt CO₂eq) in 2023 compared to 2022, but the cumulative reduction from the 2018 baseline was only 2.9% — far short of the 25% target needed by 2030.
EPA provisional figures show agriculture emissions decreased a further 1.7% in 2024 compared to 2023, driven by a 2.9% reduction in livestock numbers.
The government approved Climate Action Plan 2025, the third statutory update to implement measures toward the legally binding sectoral emissions ceilings including the 25% agriculture reduction target.
The Programme for Government 2025 commits to building four new elective treatment centres in Cork, Dublin (2 sites), and Galway, plus establishing six surgical hubs. The Mount Carmel surgical hub in South Dublin opened in February 2025 and delivered 3,729 procedures — 24% above target — achieving a 74% reduction in day case waiting lists.
Sorca Clarke TD launched Sinn Féin's school transport plan which aims to deliver an additional 100,000 school bus places across the state to 'end the current chaos families face'.
Final tender documents for the main construction programme of the Cork and Galway elective hospitals are expected in late 2026, with construction to follow. Business plans have not yet been completed, and there are reports of a potential scale-back of the Galway facility.
EPA projections show Ireland is off track for 2030 climate targets, with a maximum reduction of only 22% projected for the EU Effort Sharing Regulation target of 42%. Agriculture, one of the lowest-reducing sectors since 2018 at only -2.9%, has the furthest to go.
The Climate Change Advisory Council's 2025 Annual Review stated that Ireland failed to achieve the targeted emission reductions during the first Carbon Budget period (2021–2025).
Teagasc reported that EPA Q3 2025 quarterly figures showed agriculture sector emissions decreased 3.8% (184 kt CO₂eq) compared to the same period the previous year.
The government did not adopt PBP's proposal for a €500 credit, data centre levy, or extra week of social protection payments. Budget 2025 provided €250 in credits instead of €500, and Budget 2026 scrapped credits entirely.
Over €9 billion capital funding for housing in 2026 alone.