Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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619. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the role his Department has in the formulation of the climate and energy plan. [26893/18]

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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My Department is leading the development of Ireland's first National Energy and Climate Plan, as provided for in the Clean Energy for all Europeans package. This Plan will set out the policies and measures to reach Ireland's 2030 targets, goals, and contributions to renewable energy and energy efficiency. The first phase of public consultation will take place next month, which will inform the first draft of the plan due to be submitted by end 2018 and a more detailed, second consultation phase early in 2019 will feed into the final version of the plan due to be submitted by end 2019.  

My Department has established an NECP Steering Group and Implementation Group of the key officials involved in the development of the NECP. An existing interdepartmental energy and climate modelling working group, the Technical Research and Modelling (TRAM) group, is overseeing modelling work by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and University College, Cork (UCC) that will underpin the development of the draft NECP. In particular, this will focus on identifying solutions that will underpin the development of our ambitions under the five dimensions of the Energy Union and will contribute to compliance with our binding 2021-2030 national greenhouse gas emissions target.  

My Department is working closely with other Government Departments on the development of the NECP through the structures that have been established to co-ordinate Government activity on climate change including a Senior Officials Group, Cabinet Committee on Climate Action and a high level Group that I chair.  

Preparation of the NECP is underpinned by the work already undertaken to complete the Energy White Paper, the National Mitigation Plan, the National Adaptation Framework, Project 2040 and the National Development Plan.