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Select Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 22 Nov 2016

Vote 29 - Communications, Climate Action and Environment

We have a quorum. I remind members to switch off their mobile phones as they interfere with the sound system. Members are reminded of the long-standing parliamentary practice to the effect that members should comment on, criticise or make charges against a person outside the Houses or an official either by name or in such a way as to make him or her identifiable.

I welcome the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment and his officials - Martin Finucane, Kevin O'Donoghue, Jim Whelan and Ken Cleary. We are meeting to consider Vote 29 - Communications, Climate Action and Environment, a further Revised Estimate referred by Dáil Éireann to this committee on 15 November 2016. I invite the Minister to give a brief overview of the Estimate to be followed by a question and answer session.

Thank you. I welcome the opportunity to engage with the committee on the further Revised Estimates for my Department for 2016 which deal with the formal transfer into the Department of funding for the climate action and environment divisions. Having climate action and environment in the same Department as energy and natural resources is a sensible decision and there are many business synergies and advantages in ensuring greater policy harmonisation across those sectors. Having formally ratified the Paris Agreement earlier this month and engaged in debate with other environment Ministers at a COP 22 meeting in Marrakech, I can see a real need to ensure a whole of government approach is taken to deliver on meaningful and real carbon reductions over the coming years.

Reducing the overall amount of energy we use by increasing our energy efficiency measures has to be a key priority for my Department and I have argued hard to ensure that my Department secured a real increase in resources in 2017. Increasing the use of our renewable energy resources and more sustainable management of our waste, including increased recycling, will all contribute to a more sustainable future. We will have a further engagement after the 2017 Revised Estimates are published next month, which will go into my Department's 2017 plans in much greater detail.

I am accompanied by my officials - Martin Finucane, finance officer, Jim Whelan, assistant principal officer, Kevin O'Donoghue, principal officer and Ken Cleary, assistant principal officer. In terms of the further revised 2016 expenditure, including expenditure in the new environment divisions, in capital my Department has spent €71 million out of a profiled expenditure of €96 million, representing 72% of profiled expenditure to the end of October. On current expenditure, my Department has spent €274 million out of an end of October profile of €288 million representing 95% of profiled mid-year expenditure. Appropriations-in-aid are running at €187 million out of a profile of €195 million, or 96% of end of October profile.

As I signalled when I met members in June and September to discuss the 2016 Estimates, there has been a deferral of some expenditure on the broadband programmes this year and since then my Department has received sanction from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to divert some €3.5 million of capital from this subhead to other areas as follows: €0.5 million to TG4 to complete the replacement of a roof at its headquarters in Baile na hAbhann in Galway; €0.5 million to the Geological Survey of Ireland to fund an airborne survey as part of the groundwater 3D mapping programme; €2.3 million for Inland Fisheries Ireland for investment in the recently undertaken national strategy on angling development to cover increased fisheries development activity, infrastructure improvements and new equipment including the replacement of rigid-hulled inflatable, RIB, boats for patrol duties; and €0.2 million for additional work this year on the old Avoca mining site. The Department does not require any supplementary Estimate for 2016.

On subhead F.3, the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, what is the €4.396 million carryover made up of and why were those moneys unspent in 2015?

That capital was carried over from the old Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government from 2015 into 2016 and it was included in the original EPA Vote for 2016 that would have been approved by the previous committee. The programme allocation for this year was an additional €20 million, giving it an overall figure of €24 million. To date €20.4 million has been allocated. The underspend occurred under the previous Department.

On staffing costs, I understand €2.5 million of staffing costs are staying with the previous Department. Could the Minister expand on that?

I discussed this issue earlier with my officials. We have received the funding for staff who have been transferred from the former Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government to our Department. Additional money was included in that Vote for staff who did not transfer across so that has remained with the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government. We have received the allocation for the staff who did transfer.

That concludes our consideration of Vote 29 - Communications, Climate Action and Environment. I thank the Minister and his officials for their attendance. We look forward to engaging with the Minister on the 2017 Estimates.

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