Severe flooding in the west of Ireland in recent days clearly shows the early effects of global warning on the climate, the city's mayor, a Green Party councillor, has said.
Niall Ó Brolcháin, Green Party
"The flooding in Salthill on New Year's Eve that caused many cars to be abandoned, the lack of frost that has led to snowdrops and crocuses coming up in peoples gardens on Christmas day and the publishing of a report in the Martin Ryan Institute in NUI Galway on the discovery of warm water plankton off the Irish coast are all clear evidence of the effects on our climate of global warming," said Niall Ó Brolcháin.
"Global warming is likely to have very serious consequences for Galway city in the future, with parts of the city centre, Salthill and the Claddagh all in danger of being regularly flooded."
"With sea levels predicted to rise at least six metres in our lifetimes unless the world seriously deals with the threats posed by carbon emissions, we need to start planning for a watery future."
"Unfortunately the Government seems to continue to treat this as a joke, despite the overwhelming scientific evidence."
Mr Ó Brolcháin said the Taoiseach's suggestion that Fianna Fáil was "somehow Green is laughable in the extreme".
"They are wasting millions of taxpayers money on the purchase of carbon credits that allow people to pollute more. They are now further postponing the introduction of energy ratings for new homes."
Mr Ó Brolcháin was referring to the revelation in today's Irish Times that new regulations requiring developers to produce energy ratings for new homes will not apply to the vast majority of new homes that come on the market this year.
The regulations, which came into force yesterday, stipulate that every new home that comes on the market is required to have an energy rating provided by an independent inspector.
However, the Department of the Environment confirmed the new system will apply initially only to new homes that receive planning permission from January 1st, 2007.
The Labour Party also criticised the Government on the issue, saying developers would be allowed to build homes without an energy rating, as required under an EU directive, for the next two years.
The party's environment spokesman Eamon Gilmore said the Government had introduced the new energy labelling of houses in a way that benefits developers and disadvantages home buyers.
"The Government has known for the past five years that the labelling system would have to be introduced," he said.
"They delayed its introduction and indeed got a three-year deferral until January 2009. Now they are belatedly implementing the measure, but in a way which imposes no burden on developers, and all the burden on homeowners.
"If the Government had been serious about its Kyoto commitments on carbon emissions, this directive could have been implemented years ago."