Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 18 December 2018
74. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if he will report on the climate action plan; the additional resources Departments will have in 2019 to address climate change; the innovative measures to combat climate change he will introduce during 2019; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51494/18]
View answerAddressing climate change and our targets to 2030 and beyond is one of the key policy priorities for this Government. Since my appointment as Minister I have secured Government approval to prepare an All of Government Plan which will set out the actions which must be taken to make Ireland a leader in responding to climate change. I will work with colleagues across Government to develop new initiatives in electricity, transport, heat, agriculture and other relevant sectors.
The new plan will have a strong focus on implementation, including actions with specific timelines and steps needed to achieve each action, assigning clear lines of responsibility for delivery. It will also be informed by successful approaches in other countries, where such approaches could be adapted for implementation in Ireland. This Plan will build on the previous actions being undertaken in both the National Mitigation Plan and National Development Plan (NDP), and is to be completed in early 2019.
Under the NDP, almost €22 billion will be directed, between Exchequer and non-Exchequer resources, to addressing the transition to a low-carbon and climate resilient society. As part of the NDP, the €500 million Climate Action Fund will support the delivery of innovative projects in the public and private sectors to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. I recently announced that seven major climate action projects will share €77 million in funding, leveraging a total investment of €300 million, in the first round of applications to the Fund. These projects will support decarbonisation across the transport, heat, electricity and agriculture sectors, and demonstrate the types of investments we need to make.
The specific resources available to Departments in 2019 are a matter for each individual Minister in the context of the annual estimates process. The 2019 Revised Estimates Volume (REV) is to be published by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform in the coming days; I understand that a new report on climate related expenditure across whole of Government will be published in tandem with the 2019 REV.
