Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
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475. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if he has submitted a national low carbon transition and mitigation plan to the Government for approval; and when the Government will approve the plan. [29998/17]

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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I refer to the reply to Question No. 58 on today's Order Paper. The objective of Ireland’s first statutory National Mitigation Plan is to set out what Ireland is doing, and is planning to do, to further the national transition objective as set out in the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act, 2015.

The National Mitigation Plan has been prepared having regard to the provisions set out in the 2015 Act in close collaboration with all relevant Departments and, in particular, with the Departments of Transport, Tourism and Sport; Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government; and Agriculture, Food and the Marine. As well as being supported by a range of technical, economic and environmental inputs, the National Mitigation Plan has also been informed by the submissions received during a public consultation in March and April 2017. 

In addition, I invited the Climate Change Advisory Council, following my publication of the Draft National Mitigation Plan, to engage directly with me and with other relevant Ministers with a view to providing its recommendations to feed into the preparation of the final Plan. All input received from the Advisory Council has been considered in finalising the National Mitigation Plan.

In accordance with the provisions of the 2015 Act, the National Mitigation Plan was circulated to Government in the required timeframe and, once the Plan is approved by Government, I look forward to publishing the Plan and formally laying it before each House of the Oireachtas.