Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 185: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance if the capital appraisal guidelines used by Government Departments in assessing major infrastructure projects include an assessment of the cost of the carbon dioxide emissions associated with the project; and if so the price assumed for a tonne of carbon dioxide in this assessment. [11628/08]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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Under the Guidelines for the Appraisal and Management of Capital Expenditure Proposals in the Public Sector all capital investment costing more than €30m should be subject to detailed Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA). The current CBA best practice guidelines outline that external costs and benefits such as carbon dioxide emissions should be included where they are a significant project outcome and where they can be valued on the basis of a reliable, well established methodology; where they cannot be given a monetary value external costs and benefits are to be fully assessed in the cost-benefit report to ensure their full consideration in the decision-making process.

To assist Government Departments and other public bodies, and to develop a standardised approach to this issue, an Interdepartmental Working Group on reflecting the cost of Carbon Emissions in Cost Benefit Analysis, chaired by the Central Expenditure Evaluation Unit in my Department, has been established to consider the appropriate means of treating environmental emissions, in particular CO2 aspects, in cost benefit analysis of major infrastructure projects. The Group was established in November 2007 and it has one year to complete its review of this issue.