Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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247. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the status of the national mitigation plan; the timeline for the publication of the plan; the resources being made available for the implementation of the plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6141/17]

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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Work is well under way on the development of the first statutory National Mitigation Plan (NMP), required under Section 4 of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act, 2015. The primary objective of the first NMP is to track implementation of measures already under way, identify additional measures in the longer term to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and progress the overall national low carbon transition agenda to 2050. The first iteration will focus on putting the necessary measures in place to address the challenge to 2020, but also in terms of planning ahead to ensure that appropriate policies and measures can be put in place beyond 2020 and out to 2030.

I recently published a briefing document outlining the development of the NMP to date. It covers the four sectors concerned of electricity generation, the built environment, transport and agriculture, and highlights some key questions to be considered in terms of how best we should position Ireland in taking this important step towards achieving the national transition objective by 2050. The briefing document is available to download from my Department's website. A public consultation is planned for mid-March before a final plan is submitted to Government in early June. 

A key part of developing the NMP has been the preparation of appropriate technical, environmental and economic analysis to inform the decision-making process as to what should be included in the plan. These analyses are still ongoing as part of the iterative approach to the development of the plan, and will be an important input into resource allocation as part of future expenditure planning, including as part of the Capital Review.

It should be noted that funding climate action to the required level presents an enormous challenge for Ireland. Early action is imperative to find the most cost-efficient and cost-effective solutions. However, finding the appropriate and most equitable manner to address this issue is not going to be easy, particularly given the economic circumstances of recent years and where finances are still continuing to stabilise and recover. A whole-of-Government approach is essential to identify the optimal mix of measures and policy tools to enable an effective transition. Consideration must be given to the role of regulations, standards, education initiatives and targeted information campaigns, in addition to public and private sector investment. Some initiatives in these areas are outlined in the briefing document which I recently published.