Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It has already been widely reported that the Minister's plan will be different in including new measures and responsibilities to be introduced across the public sector. Indeed the Minister has used the word "radical" on a number of occasions. This would be a welcome development but this plan will be this Government's third climate related strategy. Previous strategies have lacked not only substantive measures but also commitment to implementation and a clear idea of impact. We cannot accept a business as usual approach that allows industries to use sustainability and efficiency as buzzwords while failing to ensure measurable progress in other sectors. Has the Minister's plan been analysed by the Environmental Protection Agency or the Climate Change Advisory Council to provide an independent analysis of its effectiveness? If such analysis has not been carried out, I hope that it will be before the plan is published, particularly with regard to the emissions reduction that will be achieved. Will the Minister also confirm that the necessary legislation will be enacted this year, especially amending legislation to provide for necessary targets and a new accountability regime? Will the Minister set out how the Oireachtas committee's recommendations will be reflected in the national energy and climate plan to be finalised at EU level by the end of the year?

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