Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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215. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment further to Parliamentary Question No. 1146 of 21 March 2017, when the strategic environmental assessment of the draft national bioenergy plan, which was drafted in 2014 and has remained in draft form since, will be published and put to public consultation; and the reason for the disruption to the timeframe stated in the reply. [53480/17]

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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The draft Bioenergy Plan was published in 2014. There are a wide range of Government Departments, agencies and State bodies that are critical enablers for the development of bioenergy by virtue of their responsibility for areas such as forestry, agriculture, waste, research funding and business development.  The draft Bioenergy Plan sets out the policy areas that must be coordinated to support the development of the bioenergy sector in Ireland.  It identifies a number of supply-side and demand-side measures to support the sustainable development of the sector.   

Since its publication, a number of the actions set out have progressed significantly. In particular, I would note the increase of the Biofuel Obligation Rate from 6% to 8% in January 2017, the current public consultation on potential future increases in the Biofuel Obligation Rate in January 2019 and January 2020, and the approval by Government last week of a new Support Scheme for Renewable Heat.

Notwithstanding the progress made on the actions set out in the plan, the plan itself has not yet been finalised. The publication of the Energy White Paper (Ireland's Transition to a Low Carbon Energy Future) and the National Mitigation Plan have provided an updated policy context. The draft bioenergy Plan is being updated to reflect these and other policy developments. An updated Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and NATURA Impact Statement (NIS) are currently being prepared. I expect the draft plan, SEA and NIS to be published early in the new year for public consultation.