Ossian Smyth (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I can confirm I am on the Leinster House campus. I am thankful for the opportunity to present details of the Supplementary Estimates for the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications - Vote 29. The Supplementary Estimate for the Department is a technical Estimate regarding the reallocation of savings within the Department subhead. A sum of €28 million is being reallocated from the communications programme to the energy programme and will be added to a €132 million forecasted capital underspend on the sustainable energy programmes to facilitate the transfer of €160 million to the energy efficiency national fund. The transfer to this fund has been approved by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform to provide additional support to households impacted by rising energy prices in 2022. It includes €60 million for the proposed low interest rate loan scheme for homeowners to improve the affordability of energy efficiency retrofits. The remaining €100 million will be used to address waiting times under the warmer homes scheme and to increase the number of retrofits supported through other Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI, residential and community energy efficiency schemes.

A sum of €24.5 million is being allocated from the communications programme for the environment and waste management programme to provide additional funding in 2021 for climate financing, litter initiatives and additional carbon credit purchases. Ireland is committed to concerted global action to address the climate crisis and engages in negotiations under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement through its membership of the European Union. Climate finance plays a critical role in supporting development countries to address climate change.

At COP26, the Taoiseach outlined Ireland's commitment to increase its financial contribution to climate financing to €225 million by 2025. The Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Ryan, very much welcomes this commitment and, in support of it, is increasing the climate finance contribution from his Department from €5 million annually to €15 million. The reallocation requested in the Supplementary Estimate allows for that increase to come into effect from 2021.

In addition, funding is being provided for the reimbursement climate action fund for 2021 for expenditure on the Bord na Móna bog rehabilitation project. The rehabilitation project is being carried out on 33,000 ha of peatlands. The works under the scheme are expected to create 350 jobs in total and will contribute to Ireland's target of being carbon neutral by 2050. Rehabilitation works under the scheme have commenced on 18 bogs and all operatives involved have been reassigned from peat harvesting activities.

By year end, the Department is forecasting a substantial capital surplus of €246 million. This arises mainly due to the impact of Covid-19 on the delivery of two of the Department's largest projects, €132 million in the sustainable energy programmes and €79 million on the national broadband plan. The extent of Covid-19 related restrictions on construction activity between January and mid-April this year had a significant impact on activity in the sustainable energy programmes and national broadband plan.

Progress on sustainable energy programmes was severely impacted by the level 5 restrictions in place in 2020 and from January to April in 2021. As a result, the waiting lists and waiting times for the warmer homes scheme have grown. There are currently just over 7,000 homeowners on the warmer homes scheme work programme. The SEAI data indicate that for homes completed in the first half of 2021, the average time from application to completion was almost 26 months.

Every effort is being made to maximise activity output since the recommencement of construction activity in the residential and commercial sectors in mid-April. However, it is inevitable that a substantial budget underspend will accrue by the end of the year. The Department will be using some of the additional resources from the energy efficiency national fund to increase output under the warmer homes scheme. This is a targeted measure to protect vulnerable consumers, further shielding them from the impact of future energy price spikes.

On the national broadband plan, National Broadband Ireland commenced connections to the new fibre network in January of this year, but due to the level 5 Covid-19 restrictions in place until April, which closed the construction industry with certain exceptions, it sought an extension of milestones to be delivered in 2021. A revised target of 59,432 premises passed was agreed with the Department. This is a 40% reduction on the original target of 102,000 premises passed.

National Broadband Ireland has also faced further complexities working with existing networks, which have also impacted on progress. This includes challenges arising in rolling out fibre broadband in a rural environment, such as significant tree trimming to ensure cable can be placed on overhead poles and remediation of ducting. Building work is now progressing across the 20 deployment areas, with 277,000 premises now surveyed, and enabling work is under way in a further 16 deployment areas.

There is no additional cost to the Exchequer associated with the initiatives being brought before the committee today. They are being funded from within the 2021 allocation for the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications on a once-off basis. I thank the members.