Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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239. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform in view of the fact that the Environmental Protection Agency has conceded that Ireland will fail to achieve its binding EU 2020 greenhouse gas reduction target by as much as 15%, the financial contingency planning he is putting in place to cover this eventuality; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9222/15]

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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At the outset I would like to clarify for the Deputy that the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government is the lead Department on climate policy. 

The Department of Environment, Community and Local Government advise that Ireland is on course to comply with the annual mitigation (emissions reduction) targets under the 2009 EU Effort-Sharing Decision (406/2009/EC) in respect of the first half of the 2013 to 2020 compliance period.  There will, however, be a significant compliance challenge in respect of the years 2017 to 2020 as flagged by the EPA in their recent annual publication on Greenhouse Gas Projections.

The Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government is aware of this challenge and is undertaking actions such as the development of a low carbon plan - the National Mitigation Plan.  The first iteration of the Plan will place particular focus on identifying measures to address challenges arising in the period 2017 to 2020.

As the Deputy is aware, the Comprehensive Expenditure Report 2015 - 2017 sets out three year expenditure ceilings for each Ministerial Vote Group. Spending decisions have to be taken within these expenditure ceilings and the new fiscal structures put in place at a European level through the reforms to the Stability and Growth Pact.