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

I propose to take Questions Nos. 45 and 47 together.

If I might first respond briefly to Deputy Stanley's point, I am taking responsibility for the post office network but legal responsibility has not yet formally transferred over. I was quite willing to answer questions on An Post and had replies prepared for it but that is a decision that was made outside my control.

Ireland has legally binding emissions reduction targets for each year between 2013 and 2020 under the 2009 EU effort-sharing decision. For the year 2020 itself, the target set for Ireland is that emissions should be 20% below their value in 2005. This target represents Ireland’s contribution to the overall EU objective of reducing its emissions by 30% by 2020 compared with 1990 levels. Ireland, Denmark and Luxembourg share the most demanding 2020 reduction target allocated to EU member states under this decision. 

On 13 April, the Environmental Protection Agency published its latest projections for Irish greenhouse gas emissions covering the period to 2035. For 2020, the year to which the Deputy’s question refers, the EPA’s projections indicate that emissions from sectors of the economy covered by the 20% reduction target could be between 4% and 6% below 2005 levels by 2020. This represents a deterioration compared with previous projections. This deterioration was not unexpected, given the welcome return of economic growth to Ireland in recent years. It does nevertheless confirm that Ireland’s greenhouse emissions continue to track broader trends in the economy, and serves to underline the difficult choices ahead as we try to reduce emissions in line with our international commitments.

In order to address the gap to Ireland’s 2020 targets and to begin to lay the foundation for the more ambitious reductions that Ireland will need to make towards 2030 and beyond, it will be necessary to pursue a range of further emissions reduction measures through the first and successive national mitigation plans. The objective of the national mitigation plan is to set out, on a whole-of-Government basis, what Ireland is doing and is planning to do to further our transition to a low carbon, climate-resilient and environmentally sustainable economy by 2050. The plan will reflect, in particular, the central roles of key Ministers responsible for electricity generation, the built environment, transport and agriculture, forestry and land use sectors.  It must also be recognised that the first plan is a work in progress, reflecting the reality of where we are in our decarbonisation transition, having regard to a number of factors including curtailed public and private investment over the course of recent years. The first plan cannot, therefore, provide a complete roadmap to achieving the national transition objective to 2050. It will, however, begin the process of development of medium to long-term options to ensure that we are well positioned to take the necessary actions in future decades. This will be an ongoing process aimed at incremental and permanent decarbonisation. The plan will become a living document; it will be made accessible on my Department's website, will be subject to annual progress reports, and will be updated on an ongoing basis as analysis, dialogue and technological innovation generate further cost-effective sectoral mitigation options. Recognising that funding climate action to the required level presents an enormous challenge for Ireland, a key part of this process will be to evaluate Exchequer and non-Exchequer options for financing Ireland's transition.  

I also recognise the need to foster wider societal engagement with the climate challenge, motivate changes in behaviour and create structures at local, regional and national levels to support the generation of ideas and their translation into appropriate cost-effective actions. To progress this, I recently announced a national dialogue on climate action to provide for an inclusive process of engagement and consensus-building across society, aimed at enabling the transformation to a low carbon and climate-resilient future.

See this speech in context