Written Answers Nos. 120-135
120. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if the renewable energy support scheme or any other financial support is in place for people living in the vicinity of Raragh Wind Farm in Kingscourt, County Cavan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54640/23]
View answerI refer to the reply to Question Nos 110 of 28 November 2023 and 23 of 29 November 2023.
The project specified is part of the Renewable Energy Feed In Tariff (REFIT) Scheme, which closed for new applicants in 2015; this scheme does not include a specific requirement to establish a Community Benefit Fund.
The current Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS), which commenced in 2020, and Offshore RESS (ORESS) projects are required to establish a Community Benefit Fund to be used for the wider economic, environmental, social and cultural well-being of the local community. The contribution is set at €2 per Megawatt hour of generation of the RESS Project. This means real and quantifiable funds being made available annually by RESS projects for the benefit of local communities.
The Community Benefit Fund National Register, which is managed by the SEAI, is available on the SEAI website at cbfnationalregister.seai.ie.
Renewable energy industry bodies recommend the establishment of a local community fund by all new renewable energy projects as part of their best practice principles to community engagement.
Furthermore, my Department's Roadmap on Renewable Electricity Corporate Power Purchase Agreements recommends that parties engaged in CPPAs should include a level of community benefit, through contributions or investment in communities similar to those supported under RESS.
121. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the role and function of a company (details supplied), a consortium of producers operating within the Republic of Ireland; what relationship it has with his Department; what duties it has been sanctioned by his Department; and what are its responsibilities in relation to the Single Use Plastics Directive; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54656/23]
View answerThe EU Single Use Plastics (SUP) Directive, adopted in July 2019, obliges Member States to establish Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Schemes for a range of single use products, including tobacco filter products containing plastic.
The Single Use Plastics Regulations (SI No 516 of 2021) were signed in October 2021, completing the transposition of the SUP Directive. Under these Regulations, producers of tobacco filter products may not place those products on the Irish market unless they are a member of an approved EPR Scheme, effective from 5th January 2023.
In November 2022, the European Union (EPR) (Tobacco Filters Containing Plastic) Regulations 2022 (SI 609 of 2022) were signed. Under these Regulations, it is the responsibility of producers who place these products on the Irish market to establish an EPR and to nominate a person/body to apply to the Minister to operate the EPR. In addition to funding the operation of the EPR, producers are required to cover the cost of litter clean up, public waste collection, data gathering and awareness raising measures relating to their products.
In response to their obligations under the SUP Directive, the Irish tobacco industry established Tobacco Products Plastic Filter Group (TPPFG) and, in December 2022, I approved an application from TPPFG to establish and operate as an EPR in Ireland.
The functions of the TPPFG are set out in Regulation 5 (Functions of an Approved Body) of SI 609 of 2023.
122. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if his proposed three-year extension of the soon-to-expire existing ten-year national postcode system (Eircode) contract with a company (details supplied) has or will require an additional expenditure of in excess of €38 million; if so, what the additional public funds are for; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54670/23]
View answerCapita Business Support Services Ireland, trading as Eircode, was awarded the contract to develop, implement, maintain and promote the National Postcode System "Eircode" on an initial ten-year period which is extendable at the discretion of the Minister for a further five years, in December 2013. Minister Ryan wrote to Capita in March of this year notifying them of his decision to extend the contract by a further three years. This decision to extend the contract was noted by Cabinet.
Since the launch, Eircode use, as part of an address, continues to grow strongly among the public and businesses and this, in part, can be seen by use of the free-to-use Eircode Finder app (finder.eircode.ie/#/) with a total of 159m lookups and a monthly average of 2.5m. Independent research carried out by Amárach Research in 2023, 2020, 2017 and 2015 showed that 97%, 93%, 84% and 89% respectively of respondents know the Eircode for their address, exceeding public awareness targets. Also, there are 2,423 business organisations and state agencies licencing Eircodes within their business systems and operations across a wide spectrum of sectors, including the leading satnav providers.
In recognition of the fact that earlier assignment of Eircodes for new builds is desirable, Capita have now reduced the timeframe to assign Eircodes from quarterly to a monthly basis. This followed a successful pilot project undertaken by Capita, supported by my Department, working intensively with An Post, Ordnance Survey Ireland and An Post GeoDirectory. All new Eircodes will be published on the free to use Eircode Finder website, a notification letter will be issued to the property occupant containing the new Eircode and an updated Eircode Database files will be provided to licenced businesses for their use. The average number of new Eircodes assigned per month is 3,550.
The expected cost to the Exchequer over the initial ten-year period will be €40m (inc. VAT), with additional costs attributed to increased frequency of Eircode assignment on a monthly basis. The three-year extension expected costs a further €8m (inc. VAT), which include Department staff costs and annual recurring capped payments to Capita upon successful achievement of minimum service level milestones for communications, on-going dissemination of new Eircodes (both monthly and quarterly) and pass-through payments for access to An Post GeoDirectory data.
123. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications to provide details on his Department's role in selecting members for the citizen engagement working group established to assist in the review of the emissions reduction target for the land use, land use change and forestry sector (LULUCF); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54678/23]
View answerAn integral part of the Land-use Review is consideration of how land users and other relevant stakeholders should be engaged with in the on-going production of the knowledge base; the co-creation of a shared vision of the transition in land use; the formulation of priorities that will inform a national land-use strategy; and the design of evidence-based and collaborative plans and actions.
One of the tasks for the Citizen Engagement Working Group will be to communicate, inform, engage and motivate all stakeholders on the agreed national priorities that comprise a shared vision for the necessary transition in land use. Priorities include not only emissions reductions to meet climate targets, but also achieving better outcomes for biodiversity, water and air quality; while underpinning sustainable economic growth and resilient communities.
The engagement group is currently being established. It is repurposing the National Economic and Social Council's (NESC) Climate Transition in Agriculture engagement group. It will be adjusted and augmented as appropriate by the Chair, following consultation and agreement with the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, myself and the Minister for State for Heritage and Electoral Reform, so as to have a balanced membership from across civil society; environmental groups; farmers and farming organisations; industry; Government; and academia. It is to be chaired by Rory O’Donnell, retired Director of NESC.
124. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications to provide an update on the progress in introducing the Aarhus Convention Bill. [54696/23]
View answerIreland ratified the Aarhus Convention in 2012 and over 60 pieces of legislation have been used to implement this. The Convention governs environmental justice rights, and is formed by three aspects, or ‘pillars of the Convention’ namely, Access to Information on the Environment; Public Participation in Decision-Making in Environmental Matters; and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters.
There are two EU Directives implementing the Access to Information on the Environment and Public Participation elements of the Convention, but none for Access to Justice – one reason being that Ireland and some other Member States have a dual common law system instead of just civil law.
In September 2019, a Government decision was made to proceed with a Bill reforming judicial review procedures for strategic infrastructure developments being put forward by the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government. Following publication of the Planning and Development Bill in October 2023, an Interdepartmental Group has been established to draft the regulations in relation to the scale of fees for all applicants for judicial review and to examine the proposed Environmental Legal Costs Financial Assistance Mechanism. Work on the Aarhus Convention Bill will resume when these regulations are finalised, as they will inform how the issue of costs are dealt with in the Aarhus Convention Bill.
125. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the key policy achievements realised and new initiatives taken by his Department during 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54785/23]
View answerIn accordance with the Public Service Management Act 1997, my Department will provide an Annual Report for 2023 in the first half of 2024 which will set out key policy achievements and initiatives undertaken during 2023. This will be published on gov.ie when available. In the interim, information on policy achievements and initiatives across the broad remit of my Department throughout 2023 is available to view in a range of press releases and publications on gov.ie - Publications (www.gov.ie).
126. Deputy Peter Burke asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications to allow the completion of a key project as part of the Just Transition (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54841/23]
View answerFunding of €1 million was awarded to the project concerned under the National Just Transition Fund, on condition that matching funding of €2.1 million, or 68% of the total project cost, be secured. The grant agreement with this project, concluded in January 2022, anticipated a final completion date for the project as 31 December 2023, with final payment drawdowns facilitated until 30 June 2024.
All grant agreements under the National Just Transition Fund require submission of annual reports on project progress. Information provided by the project concerned at the beginning of this year indicated that the project was not progressing as anticipated under the grant agreement and follow-up meetings with my officials were, therefore, arranged to determine if the project remained viable. The project subsequently reported to my Department that it had been experiencing ongoing difficulties in securing the required matching funding to ensure delivery of the project as anticipated in the grant agreement.
My Department invited the project, in June of this year, to apply for an extension to the project completion date. In line with other projects which had reported delivery challenges, inter alia due to the pandemic and inflationary pressures, my Department has indicated that completion deadlines for projects could be extended to June 2024 with final payment drawdowns facilitated until December 2024. My Department also requested that such applications be accompanied by relevant supporting documentation, including an updated drawdown schedule confirming the project’s intention to submit final drawdown claims by 31 October 2024, for disbursement by December 2024.
A further update was sought from this project in September, including confirmation that construction had commenced and that matching funding had been secured. On 24 October, the project submitted an application to my Department for an extension to its completion deadline and advised that fundraising activities were underway to secure matching funding.
On 13 November my Department confirmed to the project that payment disbursements could be extended until 31 December 2024 subject to the project submitting relevant supporting documentation, including details of any necessary project re-scoping to ensure its delivery within the available timeframe, a projected drawdown schedule facilitating final disbursement in December 2024, and confirmation of matching funding in place.
My Department remains available to co-operate with the project to help deliver as much as possible of the project in time for payment drawdowns to be completed by December 2024.
127. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the number of offshore renewable facilities delivered to date in 2023. [54844/23]
View answerUnder the Climate Action Plan 2023, Government has committed to generating 80% of our electricity demand from renewable sources by 2030, which includes achieving at least 5 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030.
To date, Ireland has one operating offshore wind farm, Arklow Bank Phase 1, which was commissioned in 2004. As major capital infrastructure projects, offshore wind farms internationally have typical lead times of approximately 10 years from design to commissioning stages.
In mid-2021, the Government launched the National Marine Planning Framework (NMPF), which is Ireland’s first comprehensive marine spatial planning framework.
The Maritime Area Planning (MAP) Act 2021 was enacted in December 2021, which established a new licensing and development management regime in the maritime area, administered by a new Maritime Area Regulatory Authority (MARA), in conjunction with An Bord Pleanála, which is facilitating the development of offshore energy.
In 2022, the Maritime Area Consent (MAC) regime was established under the MAP Act 2021. Following a comprehensive assessment process, the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications issued Maritime Area Consents (MACs) to seven offshore renewable energy projects in December 2021, which enabled these projects to begin their pre-planning application engagement with An Bord Pleanála and to participate in Ireland’s first offshore wind auction.
2023 was a highly successful year for offshore wind progress in Ireland, with our very first offshore wind auction (ORESS 1), which resulted in the procurement of over 3 GW of offshore wind capacity across four successful projects at a highly competitive average weighted price of €86.05/MWh. The two applicant projects that were unsuccessful in the auction, representing a further 1.2GW of capacity, retain a time-limited opportunity to seek an alternative route to market.
All six projects have both MACs and provisional grid offers and are actively engaged in the pre-application process with An Bord Pleanála. Under the conditions of the MACs awarded, all projects are required to submit formal planning applications by June 2024 at the latest. Subject to this process, all 6 projects are capable of delivering by the 2030 target date, accounting for 4.2 GW.
Our second offshore wind auction, ORESS 2.1, will open in 2024, which will award a further 0.9GW of capacity for delivery by 2030. An ‘indicative roadmap’ was published on 20 November outlining the steps on the critical path to this auction.
128. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the number of onshore renewable facilities delivered to date in 2023. [54845/23]
View answerAccording to estimates from EirGrid and ESB Networks (the System Operators), 186 MW of onshore wind and 488 MW of solar energy generation capacity has been delivered so far in 2023.
The System Operators regularly publish information on the renewable installed capacity (MW) connected per month at the following links:
www.eirgridgroup.com/customer-and-industry/general-customer-information/connected-and-contracted-generators/
www.esbnetworks.ie/new-connections/generator-connections-group/generator-statistics
The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland's Energy in Ireland Report 2023, which is due to be published in the coming weeks, will give the latest official statistics on both energy generation and also use in Ireland.
The Energy in Ireland 2023 Report will be available on the SEAI website here: www.seai.ie/data-and-insights/seai-statistics/key-publications/energy-in-ireland/
129. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if he and officials in the Inland Fisheries division can confirm that pink salmon (oncorhynchus gorbuscha) are legally classed as an invasive anadromous fish species in Ireland under the EU Water Framework Directive; if pink salmon are classed as invasive to Ireland (ecoregion 17), the reason they are being treated in the same way as native Atlantic salmon under forthcoming legislation as referenced in the minutes of an organisation (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54916/23]
View answerThe upcoming Wild Salmon and Sea Trout Tagging Scheme (Amendment) Regulations 2023 will be confined to providing for relevant matters relating to the native Atlantic salmon.
Officials from the Environmental Protection Division in my Department and IFI are continuing to consider the position regarding the regulation of pink salmon in this jurisdiction.
130. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the reason no meeting was held by an organisation (details supplied) in July 2023 considering his statement on 20 June 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54917/23]
View answerThe Deputy will note that it was proposed to have such a meeting in July 2023 but due to the limited availability of many of the participants to attend at this time, it was therefore deferred to September.
131. Deputy Neasa Hourigan asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the status of the development of a residential retrofit loan guarantee scheme; when the scheme will be open for applications; the details of the eligibility rules and other operational aspects of the scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54925/23]
View answerIn order to assist with the achievement of our retrofit targets, the Programme for Government, Climate Action Plan and the National Retrofit Plan committed to the introduction of a new residential retrofit low-cost loan scheme.
The Home Energy Upgrade Loan Scheme was developed by my Department in conjunction with the Department of Finance, the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland, the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, the European Investment Bank and the European Investment Fund. An agreement with the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group underpinning the new Home Energy Upgrade Loan Scheme was announced in recent weeks.
The €500 million scheme is the first of its kind for both Ireland and the EIB. Homeowners will be able to borrow from €5,000 to €75,000 on an unsecured basis for a term of up to 10 years. The interest rates will be significantly lower than those currently available on the market as a result of the combination of the EIB Group loan guarantee and a Government-funded interest rate subsidy.
The Home Energy Upgrade loans will help reduce the financial challenges for many homeowners and will play a crucial role in helping homeowners to invest in energy efficiency, making their homes warmer, cheaper to run and helping to lower emissions. It is anticipated that the loans will be available early in 2024 through participating retail lenders. Further details on the eligibility rules and other operational aspects of the Scheme will be available at that point.
132. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the current status of the National Cyber Security Bill; and when this Bill will progress. [54952/23]
View answerDirective (EU) 2022/2555 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 December 2022 on measures for a high common level of cybersecurity across the Union, amending Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 and Directive (EU) 2018/1972, and repealing Directive (EU) 2016/1148, also known as the NIS 2 Directive was agreed last December and published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 27 December 2022. The NIS 2 Directive is a major step forward for cyber resilience in Europe and will enhance cyber risk management across the Union including generating significant improvements in our capacity to respond to major incidents and developing the information-sharing platforms which are proving effective to date.
Following a Government decision last June, officials in my Department are drafting Heads of a Bill for the transposition of the Directive. Separately Government agreed in 2021 to establish the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) on a statutory basis and provide for related matters including clarity around its mandate and role in general and in relation to other actors in the cyber area. The NCSC will also require additional powers to implement the provisions of the NIS2 Directive.
Therefore, transposing of the NIS2 Directive and the additional statutory powers required for the NCSC will be taken forward as a single legislative instrument: The National Cyber Security Bill.
Work has begun on the preparation of a general scheme which will be considered by Government, with a view to meeting a transposition deadline of 17th October 2024.
133. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the total funding drawn down as part of the better energy warmer homes scheme in 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54966/23]
View answer134. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the estimated total cost to increase the capital funding for better energy warmer homes scheme by 50%. [54967/23]
View answer135. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the total funding allocated to the better energy warmer homes scheme in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and in Budget 2024, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54968/23]
View answer136. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the total funding allocated to the better energy warmer homes scheme in Budget 2024, as per the revised estimates. [54969/23]
View answer166. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the funding allocated to sustainable energy communities in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and in Budget 2024, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55033/23]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 133 to 136, inclusive, and 166 together.
The Better Energy Warmer Homes Scheme delivers a range of energy efficiency measures free of charge to low-income households vulnerable to energy poverty. The budget allocation for the Scheme this year is €148.5 million (full details of the annual capital allocations and expenditure under the Scheme since 2020 are provided in the table below). Based on this year's allocation, a 50% increase in capital funding for the Scheme would cost €74.25 million, bringing the total cost to €222.75 million.
Increased awareness of the multiple benefits of retrofit and improvements to the Warmer Homes Scheme are driving increased levels of demand for the scheme and consequently increased spend on the Scheme. It should also be noted that the scheme has been delivering a greater volume of deeper and more complex upgrades in recent years. This is reflected in the average cost of upgrades which have increased from €2,600 in 2015 to €24,000 in 2023.
In the period since 2020 to date in 2023 almost 13,300 households have been supported under the Scheme. Of these, over 5,300 homes have been upgraded this year to end-November. The scheme is working towards upgrading 6,000 homes by the end of the year. My officials continue to work with the SEAI to maximise and accelerate output of free energy upgrades.
Detail of the capital funding allocation and capital funding expenditure under the Better Energy Warmer Homes Scheme for the period 2020-2023 is set out in the table below. It is important to note that expenditure in respect of the calendar years 2020 and 2021 was significantly impacted by restrictions arising from the Covid-19 pandemic.
|
Allocation |
Expenditure |
|
|
2023 |
€148.5m |
€133.3 (YTD) |
|
2022 |
€109m |
€92.7m |
|
2021 |
€100m |
€38.086m |
|
2020 |
€52.8m |
€23.394m |
The Sustainable Energy Communities (SEC) Programme supports the low carbon energy transition by developing skills and capacity, at a community level, in determining how to use less energy, adopting lower carbon options for transport and heating, shifting energy use to off-peak times or investing in smart technologies.
The SEC process consists of 3 core steps of "Learn" (the SEC Network), "Plan" (the Energy Master Plan Partnership) and "Do". Under this latter stage, the SECs access the various SEAI energy efficiency grants, notably the Community Energy Grant Scheme, to help them progress their identified projects.
The National Retrofit Plan sets a target of 1,500 member communities in the SEC Network by 2030. Under the Plan, SECs will be supported by Government to continue to expand their roles as ‘activators’ in their communities. Most recent figures from SEAI show there are 815 SEC members in the network and 108 new SECs have been established so far this year, exceeding the target of 100.
For the years 2020 and 2021 the SEC Programme was funded from within the Better Energy Communities Scheme budget. In 2022 and 2023 SECs were funded from within the Community Activation Fund budget.
Detail of the capital funding allocation and capital funding expenditure for the Sustainable Energy Communities (SEC) Programme/Community Activation Fund for the period 2020-2023 is set out in the table below.
|
Expenditure |
|
|
2023 |
€1.89m (YTD) |
|
2022 |
€2.2m |
|
2021 |
€1.34m |
|
2020 |
€1.21m |
The funding allocations to each SEAI scheme are currently being finalised as part of the preparation of the Revised Estimates Volume for 2024 (REV 2024), determining the European Regional Development Plan allocation for 2024 and the 2024 SEAI business planning process.
