Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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78. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if his Department is part of the public sector energy reporting programme; if so, the percentage of improvement in energy efficiency to date that has been achieved; the way in which this was achieved; if his Department noted a decrease in energy efficiency in view of the National Energy Efficiency Action Plan for energy efficiency targets; if targets will be met by the 2020 deadline; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47589/18]

Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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The Department of Education and Skills has been part of the Public Sector Energy Reporting Programme since December 2013.

A detailed energy audit was undertaken at the Department's campuses in Dublin, Athlone and Tullamore, and recommended actions for improvement were implemented. Investment in lighting, heating, insulation, I.T., energy awareness campaigns and building up-grades has resulted in the Department achieving an energy saving of 26.1% from the 2009 baseline.

The Department has noted a decrease in energy consumption from 11.1 million kilowatt hours per annum in 2009 to 7.9 million kilowatt hours per annum in 2017.

Planned investment for Q4 2108 and 2019 should result in energy savings bringing us significantly closer to the 2020 target.