Pauline O'Reilly (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I move:

That Seanad Éireann:

recalls the: - State’s obligation under the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Acts 2015–2021 to reduce annual greenhouse gas emissions by 51 per cent by the end of 2030, and to pursue and achieve, by no later than the end of the year 2050, the transition to a climate resilient, biodiversity rich, environmentally sustainable and climate neutral economy;

- Government’s commitment in the Climate Action Plan 2021 to increase afforestation, to facilitate and promote the development and use of alternative construction materials and techniques, and to decrease embodied carbon in construction materials;

- potential for the use of wood products in construction to reduce significantly the embodied emissions in buildings; acknowledges: - the significant funding package of over €1.3 billion proposed by Government for the Forestry Programme 2023–2027, and the positive contribution this will make towards increasing afforestation including, by extension, availability of sustainably grown, commercial grade timber for use in construction;

supports the aspirations in the ‘Shared National Vision for Trees, Woods and Forests in Ireland’ that:

- by 2050, Ireland’s forests and woodlands will be seen as a symbol of the transformational social, economic and environmental changes that were needed to address the climate, biodiversity, housing and health emergencies of the 2020s;

- the right trees will be in the right places for the right reasons with the right management;

- forestry will be at the centre of the circular and green economy;

- Irish grown timber will be the material of choice for the substitution of carbon intensive building products for new Irish homes; and calls on the Government to: - establish without delay a working group between the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment to devise and implement the necessary policies and legislative changes to remove existing barriers to the increased use of timber in construction;

- work with industry, third-level institutions and other State bodies to continue to increase knowledge among construction professionals and the wider public of the benefits of timber as a construction material;

- ensure significantly increased use of wood as a construction material through public procurement and through the introduction of ‘wood first’ policies and whole life carbon reporting in construction regulation.”