Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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538. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the reason his Department views it appropriate to include a timeframe of up to 2017 for the preparation and implementation of the national and sectoral mitigation plans under the proposed climate action and low carbon development Bill 2015; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the Environmental Protection Agency projects that domestic non-ETS emissions will exceed the former EU 2020 targets from 2016 on; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3719/15]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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The extent of the challenge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, in line with our EU commitments, is well understood by Government, as reflected in the National Policy Position on Climate Action and Low-Carbon Development, published in April 2014, and in the Climate Action and Low-Carbon Development Bill 2015, published last week. The National Policy Position provides a high-level policy direction for the adoption and implementation by Government of plans to enable the State to move to a low-carbon economy by 2050. Proposed statutory authority for the plans is set out in the Climate Action and Low-Carbon Development Bill 2015.

In anticipation of enactment of the planned legislation, work is already underway on developing a low-carbon plan - the National Mitigation Plan - the primary objective of which will be to track implementation of measures already underway and identify additional measures within the longer term to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and progress the overall national low carbon transition agenda to 2050. I am satisfied that Ireland is on course to comply with the annual mitigation targets under the 2009 EU Effort-Sharing Decision (406/2009/EC) in the first half of the 2013-2020 compliance period. However, there will be a significant compliance challenge in the years 2017-2020 and therefore the first iteration of the National Mitigation Plan will place particular focus on putting the necessary measures in place to address this particular challenge in the years 2017 to 2020 but also in terms of planning ahead to be ensure that appropriate policies and measures will be in place beyond that. It is also important to note that the Bill will provide for long-term successive planning in this respect.

In terms of the timeframe, the development of the National Mitigation Plan will be an open and inclusive process. It will be necessary therefore to ensure that the Plan will comply with the principles and requirements of E U Directive 2001/42/EC and the European Communities (Environmental Assessment of Certain Plans and Programmes) Regulations 2004 to 2011 and t he Appropriate Assessment provisions of the Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC) and S.I. No. 477/2011 (European Communities (Birds and Natural Habitats) Regulations 2011). Both of these processes involve a number of phases, including statutory consultative phases at different stages of the development of the plan. In addition to the statutory consultations required under the Strategic Environmental Assessment and Appropriate Assessment legislation, the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Bill provides that there will be a consultation process on the draft National Mitigation Plan. I propose to allow a significant period of time for the public and stakeholders to express their views and provide input to the continued development of the plan.

The general public and stakeholders have already had opportunities to submit views on the sectoral elements of the planned National Mitigation Plan in previous public participatory processes over the last year or so. In continuing my commitment to openness and inclusiveness, I will shortly be inviting the views of the public and stakeholders on the preparation of the National Mitigation Plan currently being developed and I am particularly looking forward to receiving input from all interested parties on how we might address the specific challenges ahead and what economic opportunities might arise in moving towards a low-carbon sustainable economic future.