Greenhouse gas emissions in Ireland grew by 140 per cent between 1990 and 2004, according to a report published this morning.
The European Environment Agency (EEA) report said Ireland's growth rate was well above other countries' growth rates, with the average across 32 European states being 25 per cent.
FG environment spokesman Fergus O'Dowd
The Republic was only surpassed by Luxembourg, which saw growth of 156 per cent during the period. The figures exclude emissions from aviation and marine traffic.
Prof Jacqueline McGlade, executive director of the EEA, said technical advances, such as cleaner, more fuel efficient engines, were "very important, but we cannot innovate our way out of the emissions problem from transport".
The report noted that between €270 billion and €290 billion is spent annually in Europe in transport subsidies, with almost half of these subsidies for road transport.
Almost 25 per cent of the population of the European Union live less than 500 metres from a road carrying more than three million vehicles per year. Consequently, the report says, almost four million life years are lost each year due to high pollution levels.
Fine Gael environment spokesman Fergus O'Dowd said the report represented "another humiliating indictment of the Government's environmental track record.
"While the Irish economy has grown rapidly since 1990, it was not inevitable that such an increase in transport emissions should have occurred," Mr O'Dowd said.
"Better planning, greater investment in public transport and a greener approach to taxation would have prevented such a shocking increase.
"After a decade of Fianna Fáil and PD rule we have no metro to Dublin Airport, a Luas system that is not joined up, almost no rural transport to speak of and a woefully inadequate bus network."
Green Party Transport spokesperson Eamon Ryan said a "complete policy failure on transport and planning" was the root causes behind Ireland's "shameful" showing in the report.
"There have been numerous reports over the past number of years showing that emissions from the Irish transport sector are increasingly going in the wrong direction," he said.
"It has become painfully clear that improving our environmental record will require an entirely new approach to transport, prioritising high-quality public transport and introducing proper planning to reduce commuting distances. It will take the Greens in government to make the necessary changes a reality."
