Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 9 to 13, inclusive, together.

The Department of the Taoiseach prepares progress reports on the delivery of measures committed to under the climate action plan. These progress reports provide a detailed breakdown of completed and delayed actions and are published online, once considered by Government. The final progress report relating to the Climate Action Plan 2023, CAP 23, was published on 5 March last. It provides information on actions that were due to be completed in quarter 4 of 2023.

The report is framed around the six high-impact sectors for climate action, comprising agriculture, transport, electricity, buildings, land use and industry. The report also provides updates on established performance indicators, sectoral emissions trends and high-impact actions. In total, 161 new actions were scheduled to be completed in quarter 4 of 2023. Ninety-six of those, or 60%, were delivered during the three months in question. For 2023 as a whole, 188 of 290 actions were delivered, giving an overall implementation rate of 65% for CAP 23.

High-impact actions completed in quarter 4 of 2023 included 65 new and enhanced services in 2023 under the Connecting Ireland public transport programme, linking 194 towns nationwide; a record budget allocation for Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI, retrofit schemes, which supported over 47,800 property upgrades in 2023, a 76% increase on 2022 delivery; releasing a new national adaptation framework for public consultation; delivery of green skills apprenticeships, including new modules and courses in near-zero energy buildings and modern methods of construction; and commencing the solar for schools programme, which will roll out on a phased basis to include 4,000 schools nationwide.

The 2024 update of the climate action plan continues this focus on delivery of high-impact actions, including those from last year that were not completed by year end, as well as new actions included for 2024. The most recent Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, inventory figures show that Ireland’s emissions fell by nearly 2% between 2021 and 2022. While the EPA has not yet released its figures for 2023, published figures from the SEAI suggest that energy emissions fell by 7% overall with emissions from electricity falling by 21%. Continued, and indeed faster, delivery of actions under the climate action plan is essential in the face of our commitment to extremely challenging, legally-binding and essential EU and national emissions reduction targets.

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