Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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40. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the extent to which projects that fall within the aegis of his Department and are within the revised National Development Plan are at an advanced stage at present or are in course thereof; the extent to which preliminary work has taken place or on-site works are in hand or proposed; the expected delivery date of each; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49252/21]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The National Development Plan 2021-2030 sets out a €12.9 billion indicative allocation for my Department which underpins our commitment to achieving a climate neutral, sustainable, and digitally connected Ireland. The trebling of the Department’s budget reflects the significant scale of ambition and pace set for delivery of Ireland’s response to climate change. In addition State Owned Entities will play a central role in decarbonising the energy sector and the collective spend by the SOEs in energy related projects is projected to be in excess of €16bn.NSO 8 - Transition to a Climate Neutral and Climate Resilient Society - sets out the investment priorities which must be delivered if Ireland is to meet its climate objectives. The commitments include unprecedented levels of funding in energy efficiency to support our residential retrofitting targets. A new National Retrofit Plan, designed to address barriers to energy efficiency investments, and a new National Retrofit Scheme will be published later this year.

Over the next 10 years, we will increase the share of renewable electricity generation up to 80%. Our offshore wind target of 5GW by 2030 requires private investment of tens of billions of euros and the NDP outlines our approach to unlock this  private investment, including an enhanced regulatory regime, specific offshore Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS) auctions and a second Offshore Renewable Energy Development Plan. My Department is developing the first of a series of RESS auctions specific to offshore wind, the terms and conditions of which will be published shortly.

Regular RESS onshore auctions will also deliver competitive levels of up to 8GW of onshore wind and up to 2.5GW of solar electricity generation by 2030. The second RESS auction, RESS 2, is planned to be held next year. My officials are working to finalise the auction design and my aim is to accelerate the current auction timetable and deliver a second onshore RESS auction.

Under NSO 3 - Strengthened Rural Economies and Communities - the commitment to the National Broadband Plan (NBP) is underpinned with an investment of €2.7 billion that will bring high-speed broadband to every home, school, and business in Ireland, within the Intervention Area. This project is advancing, with over 257,000 premises across all counties surveyed and over 108,000 premises under construction. In addition, primary schools with no high-speed broadband have been prioritised, an acceleration which will see 679 primary schools connected to high-speed broadband by the end of 2022, well ahead of the original target delivery timeframe of 2026. 379 Broadband Connection Points have also been installed by National Broadband Ireland (NBI) and the high-speed broadband service will be switched on in these locations through service provider contracts managed by the Department of Rural and Community Development for publicly accessible sites and the Department of Education for school BCPs.

Finally, the wider NDP investment will underpin the transition to a Circular Economy and support initiatives such as the introduction of a Deposit and Return Scheme to be introduced in 2022, creating a cleaner, healthier environment and a more sustainable society.

Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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41. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the way in which local authorities and homeowners will be able to apply for the €1.3 billion for retrofitting 500,000 homes to a Building Energy Rating of B2 as per the renewed National Development Plan 2021-2030; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49273/21]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The Climate Action Plan and Programme for Government set highly ambitious targets for the number and depth of retrofits to be completed by 2030. A new National Retrofit Plan to be published shortly will detail the Government’s approach to meeting these targets and will address barriers to retrofit across four key areas: driving demand and activity; financing and affordability; supply chain, skills and standards; and structures and governance.  

Improving the energy efficiency of our homes is a critical climate priority and a major focus of the funding provided in the National Development Plan review.  €5 billion in carbon tax receipts will be invested by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications to support the achievement of our national targets which are to retrofit 500,000 homes to a Building Energy Rating of B2/cost optimal or carbon equivalent and to install 400,000 heat pumps in existing homes by 2030.  Annual allocations totalling €1.3 billion are identified in the NDP for the period 2022-2025.

The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) residential and community energy efficiency schemes will be a central element of the Government’s retrofit plan. These schemes provide free energy upgrades for households in, or at risk of, energy poverty as well as partial grants for those that can contribute to the cost. Full details on the application processes for the range of schemes operated by the SEAI are available at www.seai.ie.

A new National Home Retrofit Scheme will be launched at the end of this year. The Scheme will support homeowners to achieve deeper (B2) retrofits with heat pumps and will facilitate continuous, year-round working and the multi-year planning which has long been identified as a crucial requirement by the supply chain and homeowners. Information on this scheme will be published at its launch.   

The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage is responsible for the local authority retrofit programme.  The “Housing for All” plan commits to the retrofitting of 36,500 local authority homes by 2030 which will contribute to the achievement of our overall retrofit target.