Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach agus leis an gcoiste as an gcuireadh chun labhairt leo maidin inniu, agus go háirithe as an obair atá déanta acu ar son ár gcomhshaoil. I thank the Chair and the members for the invitation to be here today, and for the work they are doing on behalf of the environment and the climate action plan. I am joined by my colleagues, the Ministers of State, Deputies O'Donnell and Noonan, and by our officials, Ms Margaret Power, Mr. Sean Armstrong and Ms Claragh Mulhern. I will go through the opening statement quickly. Mar a dúirt mé cheana, caithfidh mé dul timpeall a 10 a chlog. I have to go around 10 o'clock but I will stay as long as I can.

I thank the joint committee for the opportunity to address it on this topic of the climate action plan 2023. My Department is working hard to achieve our shared goals of net-zero emissions no later than 2050 and a 51% reduction in emissions by the end of this decade. The Department has a broad remit over the built environment, planning, the marine environment and national biodiversity policy, as well as Met Éireann’s role in climate science and the National Parks and Wildlife Service. Many of our actions are high impact and play an important role in the delivery and implementation of the climate action plan, such as in the area of marine planning and responding to the changing climate policy landscape as it evolves, particularly in the area of renewable energy.

All new dwellings constructed under Housing for All are nearly zero energy buildings, NZEBs, which means most new dwellings now have renewable energy heating systems, otherwise known as heat pumps.

Ireland is ahead of the requirements of the energy performance of buildings directive, with the phasing-out of fossil fuel boilers three years in advance of its requirements.

An extensive programme for the retrofitting of local authority housing to a building energy rating, BER, of B2, or cost optimal, is also well under way. The compact growth objectives of the national planning framework, NPF, which have been translated to regional and local planning policy level through the regional strategies and local development plans, are aligned with the climate action plan objectives of reducing emissions through reduced commuting patterns, with a focus on locating development near existing transport facilities. Another of the key priorities includes building resilience, that is, the reuse, adaptability and accessibility of our housing stock. The newly strengthened and restructured National Parks and Wildlife Service, NPWS, which the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, will cover in more detail, has delivered a number of high-impact actions, not least in the area of peatland restoration.

I will now outline in more detail some specific actions we are taking that will address our climate goals and contribute to the reduction of emissions and the mitigation of and adaptability to climate change. In respect of offshore renewable energy, delivery of the Government’s energy targets is dependent on the effective and timely implementation of all elements of the new marine planning system and environmental initiatives being progressed at the same time. My Department will continue to play a key role in this energy transition. Significant developments are under way in the planning and consent regime for the marine environment. The comprehensive changes in the planning and consenting regime will support our ambitions for decarbonising our energy sector through the development of offshore renewable energy.

The Department will support the new State-led consent regime for the maritime area through the Maritime Area Regulatory Authority, MARA. A dedicated MARA establishment unit is in place within my Department, leading the critical work to enable the timely establishment of the agency. The unit is directing a detailed implementation plan along three work steams, namely, governance, corporate development and operational development, and is working to have MARA formally established as early as possible this year. I expect it to be in place by the middle of July, with the chief executive taking up her role on 10 July. The Marine Area Planning Act 2021 lays the foundations for a modern, efficient and, importantly, Aarhus-compliant marine planning system. Through the establishment of MARA, we will have a well-resourced, modern, professional agency focused solely on regulation in the maritime area. In addition, we are adopting a statutory marine planning policy statement, developing marine planning guidelines and working with the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications to prepare designated maritime area plans for offshore renewable energy.

As an example of the practical measures implemented by my Department to make it easier to develop renewable energy, significant planning exemptions were signed into law in October 2022 for solar installations on existing buildings, which will have a significant benefit to the roll-out of renewable electricity on domestic and other buildings in the State. My Department is also working on revised wind energy guidelines, which will provide greater consistency of approach in planning for wind energy development onshore and certainty and clarity to the planning system, the wind industry and local communities.

The Department is working hard to implement impactful measures for the built environment. As I noted earlier, all new dwellings constructed under Housing for All are A-rated. According to Central Statistics Office, CSO, statistics, electricity is the main heating fuel in 87% of all new dwellings and these are primarily renewable energy heat pumps. We expect fossil fuels to have been completely phased out of new dwellings by the end of 2024. In 2022, local authorities were on target, just about, for retrofitting, having retrofitted 2,283 social homes against a target of 2,400. In 2023, we plan to retrofit a further 2,400, with a budget of €87 million in place. By 2030, we will have retrofitted 36,500 local authority homes, or 40% of the available housing stock, to a BER of B2. The largest ever voids programme was funded by the Government in 2020. Since the Government came into office, we have funded local authorities to support the return of more than 8,300 vacant homes to productive use, with an additional 2,300 targeted this year. That is being managed by our local authorities and has been very successful.

Embodied carbon in construction materials makes a significant contribution to the lifetime carbon emissions of new buildings. These embodied carbon emissions are being addressed by the climate action plan, the review of the EU construction products regulation and the review of the energy performance of buildings directive. I am also engaging with the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI, to put in place resources to provide for frameworks for embodied carbon. In collaboration with my colleague the Minister of State, Senator Hackett, we are establishing an interdepartmental working group to promote the use of timber in construction. I have met twice in recent months with representatives of the Irish Green Building Council in this regard, focusing in particular on the potential of cross-laminated timber. CLT. My Department will publish a life-cycle assessment report for embodied carbon in traditional buildings in the coming weeks.

The actions included in the Common Agricultural Policy 2023 relating to the built and archaeological heritage represent a small sample of the actions that are under way to adapt and protect our cultural heritage in the face of climate change. These include the publication of guidance on improving the energy efficiency of traditional buildings. The reuse of existing buildings will help to reduce emissions from the lifetime emissions of buildings. Given the current demand on housing supply, the availability of existing vacant buildings provides significant opportunities to bring these back into use and support home ownership and additional social housing. Housing for All sets a clear pathway, through policies such as town centres first; Croí Cónaithe, with 2,000 applications for vacancy and dereliction grants having been received since the launch; and the urban generation development fund, URDF, comprising €2 billion of State investment in urban regeneration to ensure houses that are already built are being fully used, as well as resolving issues that see habitable properties remaining vacant while people are waiting a long time on the social housing list or, worse, are in emergency accommodation.

The vacant property refurbishment grant, funded by the Croí Cónaithe towns fund, was launched on 14 July 2022 for eligible vacant properties in towns and villages. From 1 May 2023, the grant was expanded to provide for applications for one property that will be made available for rent, in addition to one property that will be the principal private residence of the owner. We have increased the grants to up to €50,000 for the refurbishment of vacant properties for occupation as a principal private residence or for properties to be made available for rent. Where a property is derelict, a top-up grant of €20,000 is available, bringing the total grant available for a derelict property to €70,000. A total of 1,559 applications had been received by the end of quarter 1 of 2023 but that is increasing every day and is now closer to just short of 2,000.

In January, I announced a third round of funding support under the URDF, supporting the key objectives of Housing for All and town centre first. This round of the URDF specifically addresses long-term vacancy and dereliction in eligible cities and town to facilitate the provision of residential accommodation. We will achieve this through the provision of a €150 million. It will be a revolving fund for local authorities, staying within the local authority sector, to acquire long-term vacant or derelict properties, be they residential or commercial, and to carry out any associated works needed to de-risk or improve the site to make it more attractive for reuse by the local authority or sale. The reuse of existing built structures offers people the opportunity to live closer to work, local services and amenities as well as, importantly, promoting compact growth. The reuse of such buildings will also contribute to climate sectoral targets for the built environment.

The Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, will in a moment speak in more detail about the NPWS. There have been major changes to the service and I commend him on his commitment to that. It has significantly accelerated its programme of restoration of raised bogs in recent years. Since 2018, with increased funding and resources, restoration measures have been completed on approximately 4,400 ha of designated raised bogs. The proposed EU nature restoration law, which will take the form of a regulation, provides an opportunity for transformative change to achieve nature restoration in Ireland.

To conclude, we are working hard on the actions under our remit and we welcome the establishment of dedicated climate delivery task forces. The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage will continue to be a key stakeholder and, I can guarantee, will actively support and participate in these task forces. As I have outlined, the Department has a very broad remit and we are all focused on developing and implementing policies which will contribute to a reduction in carbon emissions and in adapting to and mitigating the effects of climate change. We are committed to playing a broad and significant role in the Government’s and the country's response to the climate emergency we now face. The delivery of affordable and quality homes under Housing for All and addressing climate action are the two key challenges for the Government at this time.