Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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Our objective is to try to achieve the 2020 targets. They are challenging but I am not taking my foot off the throttle on this, nor is the Department. I do not intend to throw in the towel on it. Based on the provisional outturn for 2015, with regard to electricity, for which the target is 40% by 2020, we are at 25.3%; heat, 6.8%, with a target of 12%; and transport, 5.7%, with an target of 10%. We intend to make an announcement later this year regarding RES-H, which will, hopefully, have a significant impact on the figures. We will achieve our targets for electricity or be close to them.

There are a number of issues at the moment that are not directly under my control, which we are trying to resolve to facilitate that happening. We hope to come close to the overall target of 16%. There is no doubt we have a great deal of work to do.

With regard to energy efficiency, the cheapest barrel of oil is the one we do not burn. Significant progress can be made, which is why I said earlier if funding is available under the national broadband plan and it is released later this year, it will be put into energy efficiency at community and domestic level. More can be done in this regard and at public sector level. For example, the largest bill for local authorities is electricity. That could be reduced by 50% if public lighting throughout the State was changed. We are actively working on that and that would provide individual local authorities with additional money to invest in their communities rather than damaging our environment.