Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
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49. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if he has considered the Citizens' Assembly's recommendations on climate change; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49088/17]

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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The  contributions by the members of the Citizens’ Assembly to this critical and urgent issue, which included consideration of a range of detailed presentations by technical experts in meetings over the course of two full weekends, have been welcomed by me and by the Government as a whole.

I understand that the Citizens' Assembly must now communicate its report and recommendations to the Houses of the Oireachtas for further consideration.  The topics considered by the Citizens’ Assembly as part of its module on climate change and the recommendations arising from this module address a range of Government policies and activities. The Government will study the Assembly’s report and recommendations systematically and comprehensively when it receives them and will provide its response to each recommendation of the Assembly in the Houses of the Oireachtas in due course.

In the context of the Assembly’s work on this module, I also understand that it has been invited to consider how the National Dialogue on Climate Action should engage with the wider public to create awareness,engagement and motivation to act in relation to the challenges of climate change. I expect that the report of the Citizens' Assembly will provide valuable input and ideas from which to draw on in the preparation of further activities under the National Dialogue in the coming months.

In the context of my engagement with representatives of Irish NGOs at COP 23 last week I was also pleased to note the very positive response to the work of the Citizens’ Assembly and the suggestion that, together with the National Dialogue on Climate Action, these models for participatory engagement could be showcased at future COP meetings in the spirit of the ‘Talanoa’ Dialogue that is now to be taken forward under the Fijian COP Presidency.

In general terms, I was pleased to note that many of the recommendations adopted by the members of the Assembly, as reported on during the second weekend of this module, are already being addressed in the National Mitigation Plan and in the implementation of the Energy White Paper, but I also acknowledge that other recommendations will need further consideration in the context of the Government’s response to the report of the Assembly.

Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
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50. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the implications for the State's emissions targets and broader obligations in regard to addressing climate change of potential expansion of energy intensive industry here, particularly if same is incentivised by the Government, as in, for example, plans to expand the number of data centres located here. [49014/17]

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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The 2014 National Policy Position on Climate Change and 2015 Energy White Paper include ambitious long-term commitments, respectively, to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 80% compared to 1990 levels and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the sector by between 80% and 95%  by 2050. As energy use and greenhouse gas emissions are inextricably linked, meeting this objective will require a radical transformation of Ireland’s energy system from being predominantly fossil-fuel based to a clean, low carbon energy system.

  The level of interest from energy intensive industry, such as data centres, in Ireland has increased in recent years and has the potential to drive growth in electricity demand.  Significantly, one of key reasons cited for this increased level of interest is Ireland’s positive record in the area of renewable energy deployment. Ireland is also seen as having a number of additional advantages as a location for data centre development including: climate; fibre internet connectivity; energy supply; and its business environment.  In recognition of the economic benefits that data centres can bring to Ireland, the Tánaiste and Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, in conjunction with other relevant Ministers, is leading inter-Departmental work to develop a national policy statement on the strategic importance of data centres as part of Ireland’s Enterprise Strategy, with a first draft expected later this year.

This strategic policy approach is expected to include proposed amendments to the Planning and Development (Strategic Infrastructure) Act, 2006, and to take account of wider energy and climate policy perspectives. I am firmly of the view that the development of data centres must be in areas where there is strong grid and energy supply.  The policy statement must set out a clear and balanced approach to the development of the sector, one that will take account of a variety of elements including regional development, costs and benefits, and the impact on Ireland’s electricity grid.

As Minister with responsibility for both climate action and energy policy, I am mindful that an increase in energy demand may have implications for both our climate and renewable energy targets. In light of economic growth indicators and energy demand growth forecasts, which include projected data centre growth, my Department is working to support and encourage the development of additional levels of renewable generation technologies via a new Renewable Energy Support Scheme which is currently under development. My Department received 1,250 submissions to the final consultation on the RESS which closed in early November.  I am keen that this new Scheme encourages the diversification of renewable energy technologies in Ireland, while mindful of the need to minimise the costs on the consumers through the Public Service Obligation.

I am committed to further exploring opportunities for supporting micro generation, including at data centre sites, as I believe that micro-generation could have an important role in Ireland’s transition to a carbon free economy, in assisting Ireland meet its renewable electricity targets, increasing social acceptance of, and helping to offset, any potential growth in emissions from a future increase in energy demand.