The Government's National Mitigation Plan aimed at reducing pollution will be launched later today.

It is expected to outline the steps which need to be taken to fulfil Ireland's transition to a low-carbon, environmentally sustainable economy.

Ireland has an EU obligation to reduce its carbon emissions by 30% before 2030.

Friends of the Earth Ireland director Oisín Coghlan said the plan needs to see new policies and measures across all sectors of the economy to reduce Ireland’s planet pollution.

“We hope to see new policies and measures across all sectors of the economy to reduce Ireland’s planet pollution,” he said.

“So we need to see measures in transport, in energy, in our homes and offices and in agriculture to begin to reduce our emissions.

“We have a long way to go but we have to start and so far Ireland hasn’t started – and we need to see a big plan to get us on the road.

The plan, due to be released at midday today, is expected to include measures aimed at reducing emissions linked to transport and agriculture.

One policy under consideration is a reduction of the top speed on Irish motorways to 110kph.

According to reports in The Irish Times, the proposed 10 kph reduction is under consideration as a way to “save energy.”

Mr Coghlan said reducing the public’s reliance on private cars will be key to achieving our targets.

“In transport our emissions are very much linked to private transport and to traffic and there is not enough public transport options,” he said.

“We know when there are good transport options, when there is good Luas, good buses or even good bicycle schemes – people will opt for that.”

“We have got to make that much easier but of course for transport it is also about planning, we need to make sure in the future that our shops are closer to our houses are closer to our schools are closer to our amenities – so we are not so reliant on the private care as much as possible.”

The cabinet is meeting in Celbridge this morning to discuss the new plan.