Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta agus go n-éirí leis ina phost nua. As part of EU efforts to tackle climate change, Ireland has accepted specific emissions reductions targets for the period to 2030, set by the EU effort sharing regulation, ESR. These targets are also in line with domestic commitments in Irish law as set out in the climate Act 2021. Ireland can meet these targets by reducing emissions and through additional compliance but it is going to be very challenging. Let us be straight about that. We are going in the right direction but I am acutely aware that they are very exacting targets. Compliance options are provided for in the ESR framework, including the purchase of allowances from other member states that have over-performed on their own targets, but if we look at other EU member states and their projections out to 2030, I do not think there will necessarily be many of them, to be honest. The approach enables flexibility among member states to help achieve targets as efficiently as possible. To answer the Deputy's question directly, there is no framework for the fines. I have read the Economic and Social Research Institute reports and other independent reports on what the fines might be. At a European level, a discussion needs to happen about ensuring that states invest further, as Deputy Heneghan has rightly said. There is no framework at the moment that details what the structure of any fines will be. If we look at the existing measures we are taking, there were emissions reductions last year of about 6.8% and about 2.2% in the previous year, while our economy was growing. We are also seeing a continued increase in renewables. We are certainly on the right pathway but I want to accelerate that. I will be having discussions with European colleagues around the framework for any potential fines. However, the EU, instead of just fining states, must look at ways to ensure that states invest further in their energy infrastructure, in measures to reduce emissions and in renewable energy. I agree with the central core of Deputy Heneghan's contribution.
Sentiment score: 0.24
The future is renewables and particularly offshore renewables. We have six projects off the east coast in planning, as the Deputy knows. We have our first DMAP through, which is in the south east. I will be bringing forward proposals to the Government in the coming weeks to accelerate the DMAP process. I have met stakeholders, including in the development sector, and will meet representatives of the Climate Change Advisory Council this afternoon. It is critical but we have a resource that we can use, unlike other countries that do not have the opportunity we have. Next week, I will be attending the switching-on of the interconnector. Our interconnectors with continental Europe are also critical. There is the Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund and the review of the national development plan is under way. It will require significant investment by the State in our infrastructure. I am visiting the Port of Cork, coincidentally, on Monday and I have been in Shannon Foynes as well. The latter's master plan is completed. We need to get the port infrastructure in place. Cork port is done and I commend it on the work it has done. Planning is well advanced in Shannon Foynes and in ports on the east coast.
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The State is investing tens of millions in this sector right now. We have put the legislative infrastructure in place. That was done in the previous Dáil. I had the honour of bringing forward the Maritime Area Planning Act, which was passed in this House, although it was not supported by everyone. It saw the establishment of MARA. I will meet representatives of MARA next Wednesday to discuss how we can streamline our consenting process. Next week, I will be bringing to Cabinet the Climate Action Plan 2025, which was delayed simply because of the general election. That will be brought forward and published. It outlines what we are doing this year. I am also working on an energy and climate strategy and have the full support of the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste in regard to the acceleration of our green transition. The focus has to be on renewables and the offshore renewable sector will be a game changer for this country for decades. I want to secure our own energy, give us an opportunity to grow our economy and our society and potentially become an energy exporter. We are not 100 years away from that at all. We are looking at having the first of the offshore renewable wind farms up and running, potentially by the end of the decade or certainly by the early 2030s, with many more coming on stream after that.
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 8 and 25 together. We have had a good discussion on LNG already, because we have been here since 10.23 a.m., but I thank the Deputy for his question.
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Well done, that is great. I hope the Deputy was working with colleagues in a constructive manner this morning, as one would expect. I thank him for the question. I know he has a certain view on this. I mentioned to colleagues earlier that we could not ignore the advice we have received with regard to our own energy security, and the FSRU is needed. I am going to be publishing the CEPA analysis in the coming weeks. I have made an offer to Deputies Daly, Whitmore, Heneghan and anyone else who is interested and wants to look at the independent analysis around this. I will be publishing it and I have also offered to hold a briefing for Members. We are committed to our climate targets. I want to be very clear on that, but also within our climate action plan is energy stability and security. The decision on the FSRU is consistent with our climate action plan and, by the way, with our EU obligations. Our commitment to Ireland's electricity generation from renewable sources is firm. We want to accelerate the delivery of that, and it is through delivery on this commitment that a secure and sustainable energy future will be delivered. As the Deputy knows, I recently received Government approval for the State-led, State-owned, State-managed strategic gas emergency reserve. That delivery of a temporary gas reserve is critical to our energy security as we continue the transition to indigenous clean renewable energy. Crucially, the strategic gas emergency reserve will also ensure compliance with EU standards and regulation. That emergency reserve will be in the form of the FSRU, to be owned by the State through our system operator, Gas Networks Ireland, with an approach similar to that in respect of the National Oil Reserves Agency. In identifying this as the optimal approach, my Department has built upon an extensive review of security of Ireland’s gas and electricity systems which was approved by Government in the Energy Security in Ireland to 2030 plan published in November 2023. I am sure that is available to the Deputy as well. This plan includes a range of external reviews and analyses that considered all potential options and impacts from a security and sustainability perspective. The energy security package set out Ireland’s ambition to transform our energy system and support our climate objectives. The plan includes 28 actions under the pillars of sustainability, affordability and security. Under action 17 of the plan, GNI was tasked with reviewing and recommending the optimal approach. The extensive body of work that culminated in the publication of the energy security package has been complemented by the GNI report. A number of emergency exercises were carried out, and an updated projection regarding the compliance with EU N-1 infrastructure standard taking into account the most up-to-date data. The strategic gas emergency reserve is a transitional measure that supports a secure transition of our energy system, and the policy decision taken by Government ensures that the risk of stranded fossil fuel assets is reduced. The reserve will be used for emergency only and does not support increased gas demand. The strategic gas reserve is not intended for commercial use. The liquified natural gas will be held in reserve for use in the event of a significant disruption to gas supplies and will be divested when no longer required to secure our energy systems. The policy decision ensures the risk of stranded fossil fuel assets is reduced. As I said, the reserve will be for emergency use. The source of the LNG supply for the reserve has yet to be determined. The operation of the strategic gas emergency reserve will be underpinned by policy and legislation that my Department is progressing as a matter of priority.
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The Deputy has a bit of a fixation on this. I have talked about-----
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Yes, you do. The reality of it is that I cannot ignore the risks the State has with regard to our energy supply. It would be dereliction of my duty as Minister on behalf of our citizens if I ignored the independent advice I have with regard to the risk to our society, economy and country should there be a disruption to our gas supply. I said this earlier, but I appreciate that the Deputy was at the Business Committee. I told colleagues that the legal advice that was received by my predecessor in this regard was very clear that a distinction could not be made in respect of the type of gas that would be imported through LNG. No one is saying, by the way, that this is US imported gas. Deputy Murphy is saying that. That has not even been determined. The procurement-----
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It has not. It suits the Deputy's narrative-----
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-----that he goes out and starts telling people we are buying fracked gas from the United States. That is not the question at all, but it suits the Deputy's narrative that he will be able to stoke up anger in this regard. We are doing pretty well as a country with regard to our transition to green energy. On an average day, approximately 33% of our energy is generated through renewables. We need to do a lot better, and we are going to accelerate that. That means things like the Planning and Development Act we passed last year to help us accelerate the delivery of renewables, an Act, by the way, the Deputy opposed. He also opposed the marine planning Act, which was incredible. We did not have a planning architecture for our maritime area, and, to try to streamline that, we created and established MARA. Again, the Deputy and others in the Opposition actually opposed it. I cannot understand their reasons-----
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-----for opposing it. I brought the Bill forward. On one hand, some Deputies opposite will say they want a green transition and to move towards renewables - we are doing that - but when we bring forward any legislation that actually assists in doing that, they oppose it just because it is the Government that brings forward the legislation,.
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No, you do not.
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You are twisting-----
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You are twisting what I said again.
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That is not what I said.
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You are twisting it now.
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That is not what I said.
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Carry on and I will respond.
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Read the record. I will come back in on a supplementary comment.
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Read the record. I did not say that.
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No, it is not. What I accused the Deputy of was being fixated with LNG and with a floating strategic gas reserve that we actually need. It has been very clearly set out that the fact that we do not have a strategic gas reserve is a risk to our society, our country and our energy stability. I did not mention climate in my response to the Deputy at the start or accuse him of being fixated with climate change. I am; I am the Minister responsible for climate. I am the Minister responsible for ensuring we increase our renewables and unlock the potential we have around our coasts for the delivery of offshore renewables. I will state for the benefit of those watching the Deputy's track record on climate matters. He did not support the climate Act. He does not support the carbon tax. He does not support any of the measures that have been-----
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The Deputy does not support any of the measures we have brought forward, such as the marine planning Act, the planning Act or anything like that.
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Everything from his side is purely oppositional for the sake of opposition. There is a serious global climate crisis. We are all aware of that and should be working together to accelerate the delivery of renewables. Gas demand will not start to decrease until approximately 2035. It will be a transitionary fuel. As I said to Deputies in response to earlier questions, we should compare the situation with where we have come from. There is now no peat in our energy system. From June, there will be no coal in our energy system. We are accelerating the delivery of onshore renewables. We want to see more wind and solar onshore and substantially more renewables offshore. We will have a real opportunity in the years to the end of this decade to make a significant step change in that regard. We are going to be investing heavily in our grid through price review 6, which will be coming to Government shortly. It will be the most substantial investment in our electricity grid in decades, if not ever, to bring onshore the offshore renewables that we will develop over the coming few years.
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Why does the Deputy interrupt people all the time?
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 10 and 15 together. Local authorities play a key role, working with local communities and businesses, in delivering climate action. The Deputy can be sure of my continued support for local authorities to do that. This role is underpinned by the statutory requirement for each local authority to prepare a local authority climate action plan. Following approval by each council’s elected members, all local authorities adopted their plans in the first quarter of 2024. Galway City Council and Galway County Council adopted their plans in February 2024. Each local authority established a decarbonising zone, DZ, as part of its plan. DZs are intended to be the focus for a range of climate mitigation, adaptation and biodiversity measures. The Galway City Council decarbonising zones includes parts of Newcastle, Rahoon, Shantalla and Westside, while Galway County Council selected Oileáin Árann as its decarbonising zone. Galway City Council has established a community one-stop shop in its decarbonising zone to provide guidance to households on retrofitting and a training accelerator programme for the construction industry. Galway County Council is already involved in several climate action projects on the Aran Islands, including Athchúrsáil Árann Teoranta, an award-winning waste collection, recycling and reuse project. Detail on the progress of the local authority climate action plans and the DZs will be made available later this year in line with the statutory annual reporting requirements. Decarbonising zones offer a significant opportunity for every local authority to drive, promote and showcase climate action at a local level. The week after next, we will, in conjunction with four local authorities, be looking at the progress made in their own climate action plans. To support local authorities, my Department established a decarbonising zone advisory group with the SEAI and it is providing €5.8 million annually to support implementation of those plans. We are also providing €2 million annually to the climate action regional offices, which are supporting local authorities to implement their climate plans and the decarbonising zones. Local authorities recently showcased their work on climate action at an event in Wexford. The implementation and monitoring of local authority climate action plans and indeed the decarbonisation zones is, in the first instance, a matter for the local authorities. They are required to do that on a statutory basis. As Minister, I can assure the Deputy that I will work closely with the local authorities to maximise the potential from the implementation of the plans and decarbonising zones and to showcase progress nationally. The specific progress on each of the plans will be published later this year. On foot of the Deputy's question, I have sought specific details relating to Galway City Council and Galway County Council. I assure the Deputy, and experience in my previous portfolio will assist me in this, that the local authority network is critical to ensuring that our climate plans are implemented on the ground. These are really good community projects which need to be supported by our local authorities. I will be supporting them as Minister. Over the past four and a half or five years, I have got to know pretty much every director of service right the way across the country. I have been in the Deputy's own dáilcheantar, as she knows, many times and I look forward to visiting Galway again. On the specific measures, I have sought further details for the Deputy on which I will correspond directly with her but the full report will be published later this year.
Sentiment score: 0.25
I agree with the Deputy that many communities have been ahead of successive Governments on this but, to be fair, the Government is here to support communities and local authorities. To specifically answer the Deputy's question as regards the financial support for local authorities, first, local authorities have never been better funded than over the past five years. By any fair assessment, if one looks at the funding streams and the level of funding they have received, it has been very significant. This is particularly the case in respect of the local authority climate action plans and the decarbonising zones. If I go back to 2022, €3.2 million was paid out by my Department to the sector to begin phase 1. In 2023, that increased to €4.7 million and that was paid for the sector to develop phase 2. In 2024, that increased again, to €5.815 million in annual funding. Under this agreement to date, some €5.6 million of that has actually been paid out. I agree with Deputy Connolly that implementation is critical. I have seen some of the work already across the local authorities. I was in Kilkenny on Monday and saw some very good work by the climate and active travel teams there. We have to support those plans and the implementation of them on the ground. On the reporting of these plans later this year, I will get the Deputy the information on exactly which quarter that will be. I do not have that information to hand. It will show how each of the climate action plans at a local level are performing and the assessment of that. I will get the Deputy those details as to when exactly that will be published. I intend to be in Galway over the summer and I will also be visiting all of our climate teams and active travel teams. We had a very good conference in Limerick recently, attended by all of the local authorities, where we saw the brilliant work which is being done on active travel, supported by €360 million of Government Exchequer funding. It is making a real difference out there to allow people to walk or cycle safely to work or school and for leisure purposes. We want to continue to invest in that and to increase investment in it further.
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I know that the Deputy is a big supporter of the initiative and is passionate about it. Last week, I met one of her constituents, a múinteoir as Na Forbacha, through the Irish cycling network. Bhíomar ag caint faoin stailc agus na fadhbanna sna Forbacha agus i mBearna freisin. Déanfaidh mé mo dhícheall cabhair a thabhairt do na daoine i mBearna agus sna Forbacha. In relation to the overall subject, I am happy to look specifically, as an example, at the CARO in Galway. We are about ten weeks into this job and all of us, including the Minister of State, Deputy Dillon, and I, are getting used to the new infrastructure and the stakeholders that are there. I had a very good meeting last week on the Irish cycling network. The active travel budget is substantial, although I know it does not cover everything that is asked for every year. What we are trying to do is look at what can be implemented on an annualised basis. To have €360 million this year is significant. The review of the national development plan that we are undertaking will continue to significantly increase active travel, which the people want. This goes back to the Deputy’s point about the residents in Galway city looking to move towards zero waste 20 years ago. They were ahead of their legislators at the time. Legislators have caught up and we are now funding it at a rate we have never done before. Do we need to do more to support communities? Of course, and I get that. The biggest changes we will make are at ground level within communities. The response to active travel has been exceptional. I have seen this all the way across the country, including in my own area of north Dublin. People respond to it incredibly well. I will be looking at ways to increase that budget from 2026 onwards to deliver more projects. We are now seeing these active travel projects and networks start to link up, which is positive. I am happy to work directly with the Deputy and, using Galway as an example, to speak to the Deputy’s point about under-resourcing, which I would like to understand better.
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Even for you, you are in gas form this morning. There is a reason the climate action plan was not published. It was a thing called the general election and Government formation. That has been done. The climate action plan will be coming to the Government within the next two weeks and it will be published then. In addition, we have no Oireachtas joint committee at the moment and that needs to happen, so there were reasons. There was nothing taken out and, if anything, we have added to it. I am looking forward to getting to work on CAP 2026, which is the really important one. I look forward to the Deputy’s constructive engagement and suggestions in that regard, which I would very much welcome. It will be within two weeks, or maybe next week if I can get it to Cabinet, although it might be the following Cabinet meeting. We will publish it then. I look forward to the Deputy’s views and comments on it.
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