Mr. Peter Walsh:

There is carbon assessment as part of the appraisal of projects. It is fair to say the carbon assessment influences the outcome of the appraisal of a project to a very small extent. The national development plan would indicate a commitment from Government and from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to review the way carbon is priced and the way the calculations are done to appraise a project. Similarly, further to discussions between the NRA and the evaluation unit of the Department of Transport, we are expecting a revision of the public spending code appraising mechanisms and the common appraisal framework for transport projects.

The value of carbon in the current appraisals is probably too low. TII is developing a carbon tool. It has been in development for a few years and is at quite an advance stage. That allows us to look at the embedded carbon of any project and any options within that project. We have got it to some degree of accuracy, but more work remains to be done. Environmental product declarations are required for all the materials used in the construction of every element of a road project and they are not universally available. There has been some improvement in that over the past year or two.

Deputy Verona Murphy earlier referred to congestion as a significant contributor to carbon emissions. Where congestion can be addressed, the benefit of removing that congestion should be considered. The benefits available by creating an environment within an urban area that can accommodate active travel measures should also be looked at. That is not being appraised at the moment. The focus is very much on the time savings associated with a project and the valuation of time really swamps everything else over the lifetime of a project.