Grace O'Sullivan (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I support what Deputy Corcoran Kennedy said about the role of Met Éireann in communication. I have been thinking about phenology, which relates to plant species. Met Éireann is a communication tool. I think it could serve as a good way of bringing the public on board with regard to climate change. If this is done on a monthly basis, we will have missed all the storms that are passing so I suggest it should happen on a daily basis. I was reading on my phone last night that eight people had died during severe flooding in Mallorca. We have a task that requires urgency. We have to apply that urgency in how we go forward as a State and as a nation. As we saw in yesterday's budget, we are losing opportunities.

The question of getting the minutes of interdepartmental meetings arose during our last meeting. Deputy Eamon Ryan referred to a memo. I ask the officials to think of all documentation that could support us in this process. We only have until January to come up with a report. If we could access the minutes of cross-departmental or interdepartmental meetings on climate change, it would be useful in bringing us up to speed.

I would like to raise the question of mitigation. Is provision being made at the moment for houses in low-lying areas that are in flood zones? Winter is coming, which brings with it the potential for severe weather. Given that we know sea levels are rising, what is being done to mitigate the current stock of housing, as opposed to new builds, in low-lying areas?

Which Department is responsible for peatlands? At present, the total level of peatland emissions is approximately 9 metric tonnes per year. What is the potential reduction in peatland emissions? The national peatlands strategy is almost aspirational regarding the rewetting of degraded peatlands. When will we have a coherent plan to reduce peatland emissions? Action needs to be taken to provide for the rewetting of bogs. No one has spoken about peatlands at today's meeting. Issues relating to greenhouse gases and methane arise in the context of peatlands.

The officials mentioned that 50% of our social housing has been refitted in the first phase of the programme. What building energy ratings, BERs, have been achieved? Will all of the stock that was refitted in the first phase be involved in the next phase, which will involve deep retrofitting? If so, questions have to be asked about the efficiency of the programme. I wonder why all of this work could not have been completed in the first run. Are there any policy measures to drive refitting in private rented housing? Have standards been revised to introduce a minimum building energy rating for rented housing?

No climate impact assessment was done with regard to Project Ireland 2040 before it was announced. The Environmental Protection Agency's projections up to 2035 were announced after the launch of Project Ireland 2040, which meant they could not be included in it. A special report of the International Panel on Climate Change was published this week. If any assessments are being carried out or any reports are being prepared on foot of all the information that has become available recently, we should have access to them as soon as possible.

The final matter I would like to raise is the offshore renewable option. A week ago, I attended a meeting at Waterford Institute of Technology which was attended by the Minister of State, Deputy English, and Mr. Philip Nugent. They were launching the maritime planning framework baseline report. I would like the officials from the Department to tell the members of the committee whether we will have to wait for a draft to be published in mid-2019 before a maritime area and foreshore Bill is introduced. We know from evidence we have heard during recent meetings that this country has significant offshore potential. This is a huge opportunity for Ireland. When will we see the legislation to facilitate that? Are we going to have to wait for the marine planning framework? Will the legislation be introduced before that?