Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

It is going to be an immense challenge. The scale and speed of change are beyond compare. The climate law, this committee, local authorities and the Government Departments all have a role. The law sets out some of those accountability mechanisms. As the committee is aware, there will also be a whole tranche of European law with 20 pieces of legislation on the Fit for 55 package that will back that up and will require greater ambition to deliver what we need to do. The first accountability mechanism is the measurement of progress or otherwise. The Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, is due to publish in April, I think, the results for last year, including sectorial emission ceilings. My understanding from talking to officials earlier is that it is are also looking to evolve towards a more European accounting mechanism in which there will be quarterly reports in line with what the European Union does. That will be useful so there are more specific mechanisms. The other accounting mechanism, the annexe of actions, is important. Deputy Bruton was, in my mind, responsible for devising that approach, similar to what was done in previous iterations in the Government to deliver economic objectives and so on. It has taken slightly longer than I would have liked to get that annexe of actions published but it will be published next week, as I said, subject to being agreed by Government next week. That is an important measure. There is significant change now that we are under the full ambit of the law. There is a tightening of that annexe of actions, a reduction from an annexe of actions of about 1,000, which is probably too many, down to some 400 actions, as I understand. The much more precise definition within the annexe of actions of what needs to be achieved and when is a further critical accounting mechanism.

Within the law, this committee has a key role because Ministers have to report annually. It is important that it is each Minister, not just the Minister with responsibility for the environment. That is a further iteration and a real responsibility of this committee to hold those Ministers to account.