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

Part of the development of the national mitigation plan has been the preparation of robust technical, environmental and economic analysis to evaluate a variety of impacts of a range of different mitigation options.  Environmental analysis, through strategic environmental and appropriate assessments, is being carried out by RPS Group on behalf of my Department. In this context, the strategic environmental assessment environmental report and the appropriate assessment Natura impact statement were published for public consultation alongside the draft national mitigation plan.

My Department has been supported in the preparation of technical and economic analysis informing the draft plan by relevant Departments and State Agencies, in addition to experts contracted by my Department for this work. A key focus of this work has been to prepare a series of greenhouse gas mitigation options using broadly comparable criteria for assessing their possible costs and benefits within the framework of the public expenditure code published by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.

The draft national mitigation plan is also underpinned by the official inventories and projections of greenhouse gas emissions for Ireland, which are prepared and published annually by the Environmental Protection Agency.

These data underpin the draft plan's assessment of the gap to meeting our targets for 2020 for the sectors of the economy outside the emissions trading system as well as the potential emissions reduction requirements arising from the European Commission's draft effort sharing regulation proposal for 2030. The EPA published updated inventories and projections data on 13 April and I intend that these will be reflected in the assessments contained in the final mitigation plan.

The draft plan notes the role of peat in power generation. While it is recognised that Ireland's limited biomass resource would be more efficiently deployed in the heating sector in the long term, the use of biomass in peat stations will help to meet Ireland's renewable energy target and reduce carbon emissions in the sector. Support is available under REFIT 3 for biomass technologies, including the co-firing of biomass at three peat power stations. Bord na Móna has stated that it intends to cease the harvesting of peat for electricity generation by 2030.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House

The company has committed to replacing large-scale peat production with alternative indigenous energy sources such as biomass. In keeping with the energy White Paper, this will contribute to the decarbonisation of electricity while also helping to maintain sustainable levels of employment in the midlands.

Carbon capture storage, CCS, as a bridging solution is compatible with the move to decarbonisation of power generation, allowing a reduction of emissions during the transition. While research at a global level remains ongoing though, the commercial realisation of CCS technology has been limited to date. Officials in my Department have also met Ervia, the parent company of Gas Networks Ireland, to discuss the potential for CCS in Ireland.

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