Ossian Smyth (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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Well, there is an intermediate 2025 target and then a 2030 target. However, I do not think we are due to pay anything until 2030. Some kind of accounting will be done at the end of 2025. I will come back to the Deputy with some estimates but, as I stated, it all depends on the future pricing of carbon and whether we meet our targets.

I shall move on to subhead A7.

The question is about the variation in the numbers of local authority staff who have been trained. It was in excess of 13,000, I think, in 2021; 3,500 in 2022 and 8,000 in 2023. The Deputy asked for a reason it is so variable and I do not have that information with me. I will come back to him on it.

The next question is about subhead A8. There is a dramatic change in the Estimate between 2022 and 2023 for just transition funds, which goes from €34 million to €12.4 million. There are two funds involved here: a national fund, which in 2022 was approximately €11 million, and the European Union Just Transition Fund, EU JTF, which is €23 million. That is how that splits. To explain what the change is, the grantees have reported to the Department that they are experiencing challenges in the delivery of their projects. That results in delays to drawdowns. These factors include unanticipated inflationary costs, particularly in respect of construction and procurement. As a result some projects have been delayed and grantees have been unable to make drawdowns at the pace provided in previous forecasts to the Department. The EU JTF estimate for 2023 is just over €2.7 million. That is a reduction of €20.2 million. In 2022, the full amount was allocated to the Department's Vote pending the finalisation of the underpinning programme. However, programme allocations for 2023 include funding to Departments involved in the delivery of individual schemes under the EU JTF programme. Previously, all this money was booked under the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, whereas this time four Departments are each going to be responsible for their own sections of the budget. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine will be allocated €10.65 million; Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, €1.5 million; Department of Transport, €225,000; and Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sports and Media, €4.5 million. The major change here is a reduction in funding from the EU JTF combined with a transfer of budgets to other Departments.