Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 5 to 12, inclusive, together.

Cabinet committee D works to ensure a co-ordinated approach to the delivery and ongoing development of policy on infrastructure investment and delivery, housing and climate action. The committee last met on 1 February last and the next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, 31 January.

Although issues relevant to climate change can arise across the various committees, including committee C which covers European affairs, substantive matters of climate action policy are progressed through Cabinet committee D. Significant work is under way across each of the areas covered by the committee through Government Departments and agencies and a range of interdepartmental groups, such as the climate action high level steering group and the Project Ireland 2040 delivery board. In addition, these matters are regularly considered at meetings of Government and in bilateral meetings with the Ministers responsible for the issues.

Good progress is being made on the delivery of Project Ireland 2040. Through the national planning framework, it sets out our strategic 20 year vision for Ireland's future, balancing rural and urban development and links it with the capital investment of €116 billion over ten years to meet the infrastructure needs of our growing population. The four funds launched under Project Ireland 2040 have a total of €4 billion to invest across the areas of rural and urban regeneration and development, climate action, and disruptive technologies innovation. The first round of funding allocations under these funds, amounting to €276 million, was announced late last year. These funds will leverage further private sector investment in innovative and targeted projects that deliver on the aims of Project Ireland 2040.

The Land Development Agency, another cornerstone initiative of Project Ireland 2040, was established on an interim basis in September and is working to ensure the optimum management of State land through strategic development and regeneration, with an immediate focus on delivering homes, including social and affordable housing. Housing continues to be a priority for the Government and we have seen strong growth in housing completions and in leading indicators, such as planning permissions, commencement notices, and housing registrations. There has also been a strong delivery of publicly funded social housing in 2018, and the finalised figures will be published by the Minister in the next few weeks. We are very aware of the significant challenge in meeting housing demand and tackling the ongoing issues in the housing market. For this reason, budget 2019 provided an increase of 25% in the total housing budget, bringing it to €2.3 billion.

Delivering on our EU 2030 climate commitments and our objective to transition to a competitive, low carbon, sustainable economy by 2050 are also core priorities of Government. We are investing €22 billion in climate action through the national development plan to ensure our future growth is regionally balanced and environmentally sustainable.

Budget 2019 provides for a range of provisions to lower carbon emissions and to improve sustainability, including more than €200 million for agri-environmental actions to the rural development programme and more than €164 million for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects.

The Minister, Deputy Bruton, is currently preparing an all-of-Government action plan on climate disruption and is working with colleagues across Government to develop new initiatives in electricity, transport, agriculture, heating and other relevant sectors. The action plan will build on the progress to date and set out the steps which must be taken to make Ireland a leader in responding to climate change.

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