Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Ryan for raising this issue and affording me the opportunity to clarify to the House. As he is aware, a range of functions currently undertaken by the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government will transfer into this Department in the coming weeks. The Department will be renamed the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment when the transfer of functions is completed.

I agree with everything Deputy Ryan said apart from the fact that he said every developed country had a Department of the Environment. That it is not true, as Hungary does not have a Department of the Environment. It is something I have been looking into and I believe it is very important that "environment" is in the title of the new Department.

Following the Taoiseach's announcement, in addition to the current functions, my Department will also assume responsibility for the following sections from the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government: environment policy and awareness; climate policy section; EU and international environmental policy; waste policy and resource efficiency; and the air quality and environmental radiation policy environment advisory unit. There are clear synergies between the existing energy responsibilities and those of the functions which are due to transfer from the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government. It was a great honour to receive my seal of office as the first Minister in the history of the State to have overall responsibility and the title for action on climate.

The Government, in both its climate policy in the programme for partnership Government and the recent White Paper on energy, has committed to transitioning to a low carbon economy by 2050. In December, we had the Paris Agreement, which has recently been ratified and cements the EU's contribution to the international effort to address climate change. Central to this is the decarbonisation of the entire energy system, covering electricity, heat and transport.

The transfer of the environment function into a reconstituted Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment allows the synergies between climate and sustainable energy policy to be fully realised. It brings a coherence across the various policy areas involved and will ensure that Ireland addresses the challenges in ways that are technically feasible, cost effective and fair in terms of Ireland's contribution to the overall EU ambition. As part of the transfer of the environment functions, air quality policy is also moving, which affords the opportunity to fully integrate energy decarbonisation with the attendant air quality implications. This will ensure no inadvertent adverse impacts from the decarbonisation efforts.

In relation to the communications element of the portfolio, my Department will continue with the procurement process for the national broadband plan. I am in discussions with the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Deputy Heather Humphreys, on the detailed arrangements to give effect to commitments in the programme for a partnership Government regarding her Department's role in relation to the roll-out phase of the national broadband plan. That role will include leading on the establishment of county or regional broadband task forces and working with local authorities, local enterprise offices, Leader groups and other relevant agencies to help accelerate the broadband network build in rural Ireland, once a contract or contracts has been awarded. The Department headed up by Deputy Heather Humphreys will also assume responsibility for the post office network.

In essence, the key aim of Government in amalgamating the environment functions currently undertaken by the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government with the energy portfolio of the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources is to put in place the best structures and arrangements to enable us to transition to a low carbon economy and meet our international obligations on climate change. The Department will continue to strive to protect Ireland's energy supply, generation, security, affordability and sustainability and to ensure that Ireland complies with international energy and climate change policies.

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