Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left)
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586. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources recalling paragraph 2 of the European Union renewables directive, 2001/77/EC: paragraph 2 and with the likelihood that Ireland will produce carbon emissions in excess of its agreed targets, if a framework analysis of renewable energy deployments on the Donabate Peninsula will offer advantages. [8997/15]

Alex White (Dublin South, Labour)
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The 2009 EU Renewable Energy Directive, which repealed the 2001 Directive, set Ireland a legally binding target of meeting 16% of our energy requirements from renewable sources by 2020. The Directive requires that Member States set out, in a National Renewable Energy Action Plan (NREAP), their trajectories towards meeting these targets and the measures to be taken to achieve them. Ireland's NREAP projects that 40% of electricity demand, 12% of heating and 10% of transport power will be produced from renewable sources.

In terms of examining the potential for local authorities to facilitate the development of renewable energy resources, the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) has developed a useful methodology to assist local authorities to develop robust, co-ordinated and sustainable Local Authority Renewable Energy Strategies (LARES) in accordance with national and European obligations. In this regard a number of local authorities have published such a strategy.

To assist further in the sustainable development of our indigenous renewable energy resources, my Department is formulating a national level Renewable Electricity Policy and Development Framework. Development of this framework is to be informed by the carrying out of a Strategic Environmental Assessment and an Appropriate Assessment and will include consultations with the public, stakeholders and certain statutorily designated organisations.