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

I mentioned that I was before the committee last week to discuss the carbon budget. The Environmental Protection Agency projections are clear. With additional measures, we are looking at a 23% reduction in greenhouse emissions, which is obviously substantially lower than the target of 51%. I see that as an opportunity and as a reason to redouble our efforts in that space. During the past three years, emissions have fallen while the economy has grown. From our 1990 base, there are approximately 1.5 million extra people in the country, thankfully. Our economy is now four times as large as it was in 1990.

When I look at sectors such as renewables, it is critically important that we continue to advance. Renewable energy and electricity generation through renewables accounted for approximately 40% of our energy last year. Twenty years ago, it was 7%. Real progress is being made. However, we must consider our consenting processes. The establishment of MARA under the Marine Area Planning Act, which I was responsible for in my previous portfolio, allowed for a single consenting authority for MACs and maritime usage licences, MULs, which is critical. I met MARA about its work programme to try to accelerate its delivery. It has a statutory timeline of 90 days for decisions. That has not been met for any MAC or MUL application. It is a new agency that is working through new processes. It is based in the Deputy's county of Wexford. There is an excellent team down there. We are supporting MARA and have encouraged it to revisit its processes, which it is doing. We also have a workforce plan request for additional resources for MARA. It is going to be critical in all of this.

The other piece relates to An Coimisiún Pleanála. We have a maritime commissioner for the first time. We have a maritime unit for the first time to look specifically at offshore activities. The Marine Area Planning Act brought forward by the previous Government was the first maritime planning legislation we ever had. For a country with a maritime area that is 6.5 or seven times the size of its landmass, it was critical for that to be done. The legislative foundations are there.

On offshore renewables, there are six projects with five on the east coast, most of which have received requests for further information from An Coimisiún Pleanála. I have met the development sector on that issue and the companies involved will be addressing those requests. Our focus must be on the construction of offshore by 2030. It is unlikely that those critical projects will be connected to the grid by 2030. It is possible that one will be. The main thing is that we still see the delivery of 5 GW of offshore energy in 2031 and 2032. We will have a further Tonn Nua auction later this year, as the Deputy knows. There is interest in that regard.

On the circular economy, we provide funding to local authorities in relation to the climate action regional offices and also for climate action teams. Approximately €7.7 million is being allocated for the local authority waste enforcement measures grant scheme in 2025. That will support further recruitment and retention of waste enforcement staff across the country. Funding is provided to each local authority on the basis that enforcement staffing will be maintained at a satisfactory level for the period that the national waste enforcement priorities will continue to be delivered.

It is also important that we have made legislative changes around the use of CCTV and such footage to deal with issues like fly-tipping. We are talking to local authorities about other measures around the circular economy, particularly relating to textiles, and how we can improve our outputs in that area.