Professor John FitzGerald:

We have examined what has been done in Britain, New Zealand and Denmark. To us, it looks like it would probably take a year once the team was in place. I specifically suggested a memorandum of understanding to get us all looking at the models before Christmas so that we could start laying out pathways and questions.

Something else that could be done now would be to recruit the team of people who will do the work, those with the relevant expertise in modelling and so on. Recruiting people, particularly in the context of Covid, takes a significant time and it could be three months before a team is in place. Taking action now, that is, before the legislation is enacted, to put in place the team that will do the job would speed up the process.

It is difficult to assess exactly what resources will be required until we see the final roles of the council and the Department under the carbon budget. If we are to define the carbon budgets, we must understand what the implications, costs and so on will be at a sectoral level. It will take time. I believe New Zealand is deploying a team of 28 people, which seems thoroughly excessive for a country the same size as Ireland. According to someone from the council who spoke at the seminar I attended this morning, Denmark's team has 22 people. We have four. There needs to be a substantial expansion of resources in advance. Even if all of the resources were available and we were starting now, it would still take the better part of a year to produce carbon budgets.

Given the legislation, I envisage the carbon budget being from 2021 to 2025. A year may have played out before the budget is in place. In drawing it up, one would take that into account. We should be taking action now before the carbon budget is enacted. Some actions are starting to be implemented under the budget. None of this prevents urgent policy action from being take to tackle climate change now. We do not have to wait for, and should not wait for, the carbon budget. Doing this the first time will be complicated and a learning process. Given that carbon budgets will be enshrined in law, we must get this right. With the national budget, there is legislation on the night of the budget and there is a great deal of preparation because one must be sure one is right. Once the carbon budget is laid out, the Government will have to consult the various sectors. It will be improved by talking to and learning from people about where they see particular obstacles or opportunities. Getting all of this right will be difficult the first time round, but it is an important process.