Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 March 2015
898. Deputy Anne Ferris asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the reason the Government has extended to two years the deadline to provide a national mitigation plan under the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Bill 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11777/15]
View answerThe deadline of 24 months referred to within the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Bill represents a maximum deadline and all reasonable efforts will be made to provide for a National Mitigation Plan in advance of that legislative deadline. In developing the National Mitigation Plan, it will be necessary however to ensure that the Plan will comply with the principles and requirements of EU Directive 2001/42/EC and the European Communities (Environmental Assessment of Certain Plans and Programmes) Regulations 2004 to 2011 and the Appropriate Assessment provisions of the Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC) and the European Communities (Birds and Natural Habitats) Regulations 2011. The development of the Plan will be an iterative process and will be informed by the outcome of various stages of the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and Appropriate Assessment (AA) processes. Both of these processes will also involve a number of statutory consultative phases at different stages of the development of the Plan.
In addition to the statutory consultations required under the SEA and AA legislation, the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Bill provides for a consultation process on the draft National Mitigation Plan. I propose to allow a significant period of time for the public and stakeholders to express their views and provide input to the continued development of the Plan. For these reasons, it is considered that a maximum of a two-year period will be required to develop the Plan.
In developing this National Mitigation Plan, I intend to continue my commitment to openness and inclusiveness. Building on the opportunities already provided to the general public and stakeholders to submit views on the sectoral elements of the Plan through previous public participatory processes over the last year or so, I will shortly be inviting the views of the public and stakeholders on the preparation of the overall National Mitigation Plan currently being developed. I am particularly looking forward to receiving input from all interested parties on how we might address the specific challenges ahead and what economic opportunities might arise in moving towards a low-carbon sustainable economic future.
