Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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296. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the number of energy efficiency improvements his Department is planning to deliver in the public sector by 2018, 2019 and 2020, respectively. [17240/17]

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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Since the 2009 National Energy Efficiency Action Plan (NEEAP) public sector bodies have an obligation to achieve 33% energy efficiency by 2020.  My Department provides policy leadership on energy efficiency as set out in the NEEAP while the progress of the public sector towards its 33% target is monitored by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI).

The SEAI’s most recent Annual Report on Public Sector Energy Efficiency Performance shows that by end 2015 public sector bodies had achieved a 21% improvement in their energy efficiency against a 2009 baseline.  The cumulative savings on energy spend to the end of 2015 amounts to €619 million.  Progress achieved for 2015 alone reduced energy spend in the sector by €154 million and cut emissions by 548,000 tonnes.  Based on the current trajectory, the public sector will need to be making energy savings of 3,910 gigawatt hours (GWh) in the year 2020 to achieve the 33% target. In 2015 2,442 GWh were reported.  

To build on this progress, and drive the further effort required to meet the target, I published the first Public Sector Energy Efficiency Strategy earlier this year. Developed through consultation with a wide range of stakeholders from across the public sector, and approved by Government, the Strategy establishes a new governance structure to ensure senior leadership on energy management across the public sector.  The Strategy also provides clarification that public sector bodies can retain the financial savings made from energy efficiency for re-investment in further energy saving activity or their provision of public services.

I have allocated €5m in 2017 for two partnership programmes between the SEAI and the OPW and Department of Education and Skills.  These projects will fund replicable, pathfinder projects in the central government property portfolio and in schools.  The SEAI is also providing technical assistance to all public sector bodies to establish a central project pipeline, and provide enhanced project development assistance, across the public sector to facilitate coordinated decision making on investment in public sector energy efficiency to 2020.