Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Under the new climate Bill, Ireland will need to reduce its emissions by approximately 7% per annum. We have been told that capital expenditure is set to increase significantly in the coming years. I expect a sizeable chunk of that will be for green capital infrastructure. I would be interested to see a clear roadmap for how capital investment will be used to reach our targets. I have raised this issue previously but have not been given any exact details. Will the Taoiseach confirm whether this has been discussed by the Cabinet committee on environment and climate change and, if not, whether he can progress it?

I also want to refer briefly to an issue that has been raised previously by Deputy McDonald and on which no progress has been made to date. The Taoiseach is an advocate of the all-Ireland pollinator plan but his Government has taken no action to secure the future of the National Biodiversity Data Centre and its incredible staff, who deserve the bulk of the credit for the plan's success across the island of Ireland. Currently, the Heritage Council outsources the contract for the data centre. This is not a sustainable model if we are serious about tackling the biodiversity crisis. Will the Taoiseach commit to engaging with the Opposition in considering a sustainable organisational model for the data centre that will secure its future, staff and data?

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