Richard Bruton
Ceist:107. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Environment, Climate and Communications the innovations he plans for the upcoming statement of strategy of his Department. [34558/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 10 November 2020
Ceisteanna (107)
Freagraí scríofa
The Programme for Government sets out the Government's response to the significant challenges facing the country including COVID-19, decarbonising our economy and creating a sustainable future for all. As the Deputy will be aware, the Programme for Government requires a massive step up in ambition and delivery in areas for which my Department is responsible including:
- supporting an average 7% per annum reduction in overall greenhouse gas emissions from 2021 to 2030;
- publishing a Just Transition Plan and supporting the work of the Just Transition Commissioner;
- developing a whole of Government plan setting out how we will deliver 70% renewable electricity by 2030, both onshore and offshore;
- developing and implementing a National Retrofitting Plan to retrofit 500,000 homes to BER B2 by 2030;
- progressing, and seeking to accelerate, the rollout of the National Broadband Plan;
- developing cyber security capacity to better protect citizens, companies and institutions; and
- evaluating the potential for contributions towards our climate ambition from land-use improvements and setting in train the development of a land-use plan, based on its findings.
This will require additional capacity and new approaches by the Department and its agencies. Insofar as capacity is concerned, an additional €5.6m has been provided in Budget 2021 to ensure that both the Department and SEAI can upscale to the level required. This will enable the recruitment of over 100 additional resources primarily in the energy and climate areas of the Department and in the retrofitting area of SEAI.
A new Statement of Strategy for my Department is currently being developed in accordance with the requirements of the Public Service Management Act 1997. The strategy will set out the vision and mission for my Department for the next three years and the key objectives, outputs and related strategies
across the broad portfolio for which we are responsible. It will, inter alia, address the comprehensive and ambitious suite of commitments in the Programme for Government to be delivered by my Department.
The Statement of Strategy is part of the wider Department and Government ecosystem and it will be aligned with the other strategic plans and programmes of my Department, such as the Climate Action Plan, as well as with strategic developments at EU level such as the European Green Deal and Shaping Europe's Digital Future.
An important part of the development process involves scanning the external environment to ensure that the Strategy reflects changes and challenges in society and the economy as well as technological advancements. Inherent in that part of the process is stakeholder engagement, an area where my Department has been building capacity and which is reflected in the approach taken to the development of the Waste Action Plan for a Circular Economy. We intend to continue to adopt a strong stakeholder focus in the preparation of the new Strategy.
Identifying the potential contribution from land-use towards our climate ambition in order to set in train a land-use plan will be a key element of my Department's work over the period of the Statement of Strategy. Innovation will be at the heart of this work, given it complexity, scale and the need to cooperate with other Departments, in particular the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine and a diverse range of external stakeholders. It will be essential to initially gather and analyse the relevant data and information required to inform policy and understand potential implications in the context of the Government's wider economic, social and climate objectives.
In terms of the implementation of the Strategy, the recent Innovation Week showcased best practice in innovation across the public sector, including in my own Department. Examples of the innovative approaches adopted were in areas such as community engagement, technical certification programmes and geosciences. My Department intends to build on these and other projects to ensure innovation across the Department in delivery of the Strategy. There are a number of proposed mechanisms being considered in this regard including the broadening of an innovation hub to share best practice and case studies, hackathons to develop creative solutions and peer support groups.
Question No. 108 answered orally.