Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I reassure the Deputy that this matter is a priority for my Department. Work on this is ongoing and I anticipate that it will be completed shortly. As the Deputy is aware, a shadow price of carbon is the value that we place on these projected future emissions from projects. I reassure the Deputy as well that when he looks at the national development plan, he will see that we have given an envelope of funding of €35 billion, for example, to the Department of Transport. The Deputy is aware of the overall emphasis in respect of the ratio that we have agreed for spending in this regard, namely, that of a 2:1 ratio in respect of investment in public transport versus investment in road infrastructure. We have also carved out an annual commitment of €360 million for investment in a range of active travel measures during the lifetime of the programme. Therefore, my Department and that of the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, are working closely together. This format does not really allow us to get into the detail, but I would welcome engagement with the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach on the detail of how we are connecting this analysis and how we are assessing the impact of the shadow price of carbon concerning individual projects. It is difficult, however, to get into the detail in this format.

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