Neasa Hourigan (Dublin Central, Green Party)
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1285. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the special measures that her Department is taking to reduce energy usage in the scenario in which members of the public are being asked to do the same. [20298/22]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Justice Plan 2022, which I published recently, commits to delivering on our climate and sustainability obligations and responsibilities, with the development of the Justice Climate Policy Statement being a key priority for 2022. My Department will continue to work reduce the carbon footprint of Justice projects by integrated climate impact awareness into our Project Management Frameworks, as was implemented in 2021. 

My Department has an ongoing programme of actions to continue to reduce energy use, including regular staff awareness campaigns, active building management system monitoring and maintenance, a power-off policy and a programme of works to progressively improve efficiency, including the replacement of older lighting with low-energy LED panels. 

This programme has been highly successful, achieving a 46% reduction in energy usage against the 2009 baseline by 2021, well above the 2020 climate target of 33%.  My Department will continue to actively work to further reduce our energy usage and carbon footprint, with the aim of meeting our 2030 and 2050 climate action targets.