Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for this important question on transport sectoral emissions. My Department's national investment framework for transport in Ireland, NIFTI, sets out modal and intervention hierarchies to achieve transport objectives. One of the four priorities is decarbonisation and as such, the sponsoring agency of any road project must consider any potential positive or negative impacts of a given project in relation to decarbonisation. The sponsor must also demonstrate that a given option is the most environmentally sustainable and cost-effective solution for the issue at hand.

As part of our NIFTI framework we have also developed and published the transport appraisal framework, TAF, which sets out the detailed framework for how all transport projects must be assessed. Under the TAF, climate change impacts are one of the seven appraisal criteria for intervention. As part of the development of a project's business case, each individual project is also assessed for strategic policy alignment under which the project's alignment with climate policy, including the relevant climate action plan, is considered. All of this assessment is published as part of the publication of the business case.

In developing the sectoral emissions ceilings as part of the Government's climate action plan, the impact of the NDP's planned investment in the roads programme was considered in the modelling scenarios undertaken. A refresh of those modelling scenarios is under way again this year as part of the development of climate action plan 2026 and will again include analysis of the roads programme.

The Deputy will no doubt acknowledge that investment in our roads programme promotes regional accessibility, facilities economic competitiveness, supports a town centres first approach and improves road safety. Our ongoing efforts to decarbonise the vehicles using the roads network is an important focus over the short to medium term. Significant investment is under way to accelerate the roll-out of EV charging infrastructure across the network.

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