A Green Party Minister says it's 'understandable' that greenhouse gas emissions have increased in Ireland.
It comes as an EPA report found emissions increased by 4.7% in 2021 compared to the previous year.
Ossian Smith says the war in Ukraine, the pandemic and gas shortages, all need to be taken into account.
The Junior Minister for Public Procurement says it's disappointing they didn't meet their targets, but not unexpected:
"It's very disappointing to see it but it is understandable. The target is it's a five year target. We don't have single one year targets. If you divide it up over 10 years, it's 7% a year, but we know that it's never going to be smooth. One year you have a war, one year you have a pandemic, the next year you have a rebound effect when the pandemic is over and emissions go up again."
