Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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10. To ask the Taoiseach the extent to which his Department continues to exercise a leadership role to ensure climate action is a key priority across all Departments. [24620/23]

Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity)
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11. To ask the Taoiseach the extent to which his Department plays a role in ensuring climate action is a key priority across all Departments. [25548/23]

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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12. To ask the Taoiseach the number of meetings that have taken place to date in 2023 of the climate action delivery board, co-chaired by his Department. [25579/23]

Neasa Hourigan (Dublin Central, Green Party)
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13. To ask the Taoiseach the role his Department has in ensuring climate action is a key priority across all Departments. [25678/23]

Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South West, Fianna Fail)
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14. To ask the Taoiseach the leadership role his Department takes to ensure climate action is a key priority across all Departments. [25962/23]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 10 to 14, inclusive, together.

The climate action unit in the Department of the Taoiseach seeks to co-ordinate and drive climate action across all Departments by assisting the work of the Cabinet committee on the environment and climate change and associated senior official groups. The Department also provides secretariat to the climate action delivery board, which is composed of the Secretaries General of those Departments that have core responsibilities in ensuring that the Government’s climate objectives are met. This board oversees the implementation of the climate action plan and acts as a forum for identifying solutions to any challenges or obstacles impeding delivery. The board meets quarterly. It last met in February and is due to meet again in the coming weeks.

The Department also monitors implementation of actions agreed as part of the climate action plan. Each quarter it reports to the Government on progress under the climate action plan and these reports are published on the Department's website. The Department also chairs several interdepartmental groups in the areas of climate research and modelling, climate communications and EU climate policy developments. It also assists the climate action units that have been established in each Department.

Bringing down our greenhouse gas emissions, decarbonising our economy and protecting ourselves from the impacts of climate change must be the preoccupation of all Departments. The programme of change we have embarked upon will be transformational in so many ways. All sectors of our economy and all parts of society will be affected and must be involved in this system change. Opportunities abound and doubtless there will be further challenges ahead but it is in all of our interests that we move quickly and with resolve to play our full part in this shared national and, indeed, global endeavour.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Taoiseach for the detail of his reply. The purpose of the question is to try to ensure, in accordance with Government policy, that all Departments can make a meaningful contribution so as not to leave the brunt of the heavy load in one or two Departments only. It is also an opportunity to ensure we in this country are fairly treated vis-à-visour European competitors and non-European competitors, with particular reference to those who might be direct competitors insofar as our exports are concerned. It is critical that we move forward in a united way that ensures we meet our climate change targets on the one hand and that we do not impoverish ourselves in the course thereof on the other or in any way dismantle any sector of our industry that would be allowed in other European or non-European countries.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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To meet our climate targets we need to support communities in developing and recognising their commitment to, and hope for, a sustainable future. This transition must be inclusive and democratic if it is to be successful and if policymakers and decision-makers are to bring the people with us.

This approach will not only deliver the transition; it will ensure that it is just.

My colleagues, Deputy O'Rourke and Senator Boylan, recently published a number of climate action proposals to support and encourage local communities. We want to see an increase in the resourcing of sustainable energy communities and the introduction of a new local energy action fund to ensure community groups are supported to reduce energy use and increase renewable energy production. We know that climate change, the economy and social inclusion are all interlinked. The establishment of a community wealth-building fund and a workers' co-operative development unit would support an economic model that is fair and more sustainable. We want to raise the target of community and locally owned renewable energy projects to at least 10% of Ireland's renewable capacity. We would also double the funding allocated to them. These are just some of the measures we hope the Government parties will support and advance in next year's budget.

Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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Gabhaim buíochas leis an Taoiseach. Has he discussed with the various Departments the proposed nature restoration laws and plans currently being drawn up at EU level? As they currently stand, they are of major concern for many farmers who fear their lands might be flooded and not available for food production. The recent demand for environmental schemes clearly demonstrates the willingness of farmers not just to be part of but very much central to climate actions, where more than 46,000 applicants applied for ACRES, which was well ahead of any targets. The proposed nature restoration laws ask farmers to give up an awful lot and go into an unknown where their farms could be flooded. There are also questions about whether lands would be torn between forestry and rewetting. This is at a time when ambitious targets for afforestation are well behind. Is it realistic that State lands alone could be impacted by rewetting? What of adjoining landowners? Has this been discussed with the various Departments and EU officials? Will the Taoiseach outline the direction on it?

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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My question follows directly on from Deputy Moynihan's. I will ask about the forestry programme. In a document I helped leak, and that the Government had not put out, from the European Commission's Directorate-General for Environment, our draft forestry programme was rejected on the basis that it was not doing biodiversity. It very specifically referred to Coillte and the predominance of the Sitka spruce monocultural forestry model. I do not even know where that is at. Have we redrafted it? When will we see it? It raises a big issue. If we are, as we must, to do a sustainable, diverse form of afforestation and enhance biodiversity, the Government will have to pay farmers. It has to make it worth their while in order to get them on board so that they do not feel threatened and lose out by the absolutely necessary restoration of biodiversity, and meeting of our afforestation targets, with a new forestry model that replaces the disaster of the monocultural Sitka model.

Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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I raise two issues related to energy usage and climate. Does Ireland have any plans to withdraw from the Energy Charter Treaty, which is being used by companies internationally to thwart climate action? We have seen other European countries now signalling their intention to withdraw, including France, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain, especially following a landmark case where Italy was forced to pay more than €200 million in compensation to a British oil company after it decided to ban offshore drilling. I understand that similar litigation is possible here.

On the development of liquefied natural gas, LNG, storage, which is an issue being discussed today by the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Environment and Climate Action, I echo the calls of activists, and was glad to sign an open letter on behalf of the Labour Party, opposing the embedding of dirty fuel infrastructure in our energy system. Will the Taoiseach clarify the Government's position on LNG storage?

Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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We are told we are moving from a developer-led to a planning-led system for the delivery of offshore wind. Many of the companies and those involved in the industry are speaking about the difficulty in shifting from one system to another. They are asking what the timeline is and when we will have a sufficiently resourced Maritime Area Regulatory Authority, MARA, right through to An Bord Pleanála; when the designated maritime area plans, DMAPs, will be up and running; and when we will have a system that is fit for purpose. We know we are years behind.

Are we looking at some sort of State involvement or investment, even if we are talking about a third-party vehicle or whatever, from the perspective of doing what we have not done before, which is benefit from these natural resources?

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I again thank Deputies for their contributions. Deputy Durkan is correct that all Departments have to play a role in climate action, but obviously the ones that have to play the biggest role are the Departments of Transport; Environment, Climate and Communications; Agriculture, Food and the Marine; and Enterprise, Trade and Employment, as those represent the areas that account for almost all the emissions. Of course, the Departments of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Finance, and Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform, also have significant roles to play. I agree we need to get the balance right. We need to take climate action but not in a way that causes people to lose their jobs or see their living standards fall, or impacts adversely on rural development. That is why the Government is trying to marry climate action with economic opportunity. Great economic opportunities arise from climate action, in particular the ambition I set out for Ireland to become energy independent through developing our solar, offshore and onshore wind, interconnection, batteries, green fertiliser, green hydrogen and all those new industries we can develop, import substitution and export. That is the vision we are working to press forward with.

On the matter of the nature restoration law raised by Deputy Aindrias Moynihan, we all appreciate the need to protect nature, to restore biodiversity loss and allow nature to regrow. We know how quickly nature can recover if it is allowed to regrow. The EU nature restoration law is still a proposal at this stage. As I said previously in the House, there are aspects of it that I believe go too far, particularly when it comes to taking agricultural land out of use for food production against the wishes of farmers. There are also potential impacts on urban areas which, if the law was applied to the letter, would make it much harder for grass pitches to become all-weather pitches and could place restrictions on people doing what they want with their own front and back gardens. There are some very far-reaching proposals. The Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Noonan, has been very clear that farmers should not be compelled to do anything and should be remunerated and rewarded if they do. I agree with that approach.

I encourage people to engage with the debate tomorrow in a productive way and suggest how the proposals can be improved, and what compromises can be made, to make sure the proposed law is fit for purpose. We do not yet have an agreed text. It is thought that could be ready for the Council of Ministers' meeting at Luxembourg on 20 June. At that point, there will be trilogue with the European Parliament in July leading to potential ratification by the end of the year, giving us two years to prepare a national restoration plan. We need an impact assessment. How this proposed law would impact on us economically and socially is also important. At European Parliament level, there will be negative votes from both the agriculture and fisheries committees, which are significant.

Aviation makes up 2% or 3% of our emissions. We are an island nation so we rely on aviation for connectivity in a way other countries do not.

I am not sure what percentage of the 2% the private jets make up. I do not know what the figure is but I imagine it is quite small. Banning them outright could have negative impacts on investment and employment. Certainly, if a CEO or a chairperson from an IDA client company is coming in, I do not think we can say to them that this is the only country in Europe where they cannot land their jet but they can continue to invest here and employ thousands of people-----

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I do not think a unilateral approach from Ireland would work in that regard. What might make more sense would be a tax or a requirement that sustainable aviation fuels be used over time. That might be a more realistic approach than the sledgehammer approach which would probably essentially say that Ireland is closed to investment from major companies into the future.

On the energy treaty, I am not aware of any proposals to withdraw from that.