Martin Ferris (Kerry North-West Limerick, Sinn Fein)
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Question 56: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the date on which he will publish climate change legislation. [11508/11]

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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The Programme for Government includes a commitment to publish climate legislation to give certainty and clarity in relation to the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions to be achieved in line with EU targets. In progressing this commitment, I intend to follow a transparent process which will provide an avenue for engagement by all the relevant stakeholders.

My priority in the climate area is, in the first instance, to undertake a review of Ireland's climate-related policies and measures in light of existing and anticipated national greenhouse gas mitigation targets. This process, which I have requested my Department to complete by end-June, will underpin the development of future climate policy. My Department will then build on that process by, inter alia, exploring more fully the form and content of legislation that it would be appropriate to put in place to support the overall national effort in the climate area. In that context, I will be taking account of the work undertaken by the previous Government, which culminated in the publication of the Climate Change Response Bill 2010, although I do not agree with the contents of the Bill. Given the support of Parties on all sides of the House for climate legislation, it would be useful if we were to be able to move forward on an all-Party basis. Accordingly, once the new Committee arrangements are in place, I will be writing to the Chair of the relevant Committee in this regard.

At this point, taking account of the importance of advancing this issue in an inclusive way, providing a more robust basis for galvanising a broad measure of support, I expect to be in a position to publish a consultation paper on climate legislation early next year, with the heads of a climate Bill following during the year, and a final Bill being published as quickly as possible thereafter.