ONE WITH NATURE...

THE Tanaiste

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enjoyed a day out in the sunshine at Bloom yesterday — and revealed he likes gardening in his spare time.

Micheal Martin yesterday said he enjoys his own garden at home, and grows a mixture of plants and flowers.

“It’s a ■

small garden, but we do grow flowers. White flowers are my favourite.

“But it’s good to have wild flowers in the garden too. I encourage people to let their grass grow as it’s good for the environment.”

He joked: “I tell my ■ wife not to mow the grass.”

He told The Star he enjoyed seeing children so involved in the festival.

“It’s all about bringing it back to the children. “For example the Rise Garden is a garden that was created by the children of Oberstown [youth detention centre in Dublin]. “What a fantastic ■ idea to have the children take part in such a great project.” He was impressed by the festival’s First 5 Garden of Wonder and Discovery.

LEO Varadkar has denied he is afraid to take tough political decisions to meet targets on emissions reductions.

The Taoiseach was speaking after more disappointing predictions from the Environmental Protection Agency, which forecasts that the country will miss crucial 2050 emissions targets by a long way.

The EPA’s latest forecast grimly predicts that if all the Government’s environmental policies and measures hit their targets, Ireland will still only score a 29 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.

This will be well short of the legally binding 51 per cent reduction target Ireland has signed up to.

In response to the EPA forecast, Friends of the Earth claimed Mr Varadkar risks becoming a “climate hypocrite” if he doesn’t match climate ambitions with action.

Mr Varadkar defended his Government’s actions in tackling the climate crisis when speaking to reporters at Bloom on Friday afternoon.

He said: “I think after 12 years in government, I’ve demonstrated