Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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111. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if he will report on the work of the land use and sectoral policy unit within his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35842/22]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The land-use and sectoral policy unit within my Department partners with other Government Departments to deliver climate action in the areas of agriculture; the bioeconomy; enterprise; electricity; the EU emissions trading system (EU ETS); land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF); and the marine.Projects being undertaken by the unit include the delivery of the Programme for Government (PfG) commitment on the bioeconomy - the unit is co-chairing, with the Department of Agriculture Food and the Marine (DAFM), the Bioeconomy Implementation Group and Bioeconomy Forum to deliver the forthcoming Bioeconomy Action Plan. The unit, again with DAFM, is delivering on the PfG commitment for a Land-Use Review. The first phase of this review, setting out the evidential base, is due for completion this September.

As part of the Just Transition, the unit is delivering, with the National Parks and Wildlife Service and Bord na Móna, the Enhanced Decommissioning, Rehabilitation and Restoration Scheme (EDRRS). EDRRS is rehabilitating 33,000 hectares of Bord na Móna peatlands that had been previously harvested for peat extraction for electricity generation. EDRSS is supporting 225 jobs to date with the potential to support 310 jobs.

The policy division is jointly responsible for the development of the Climate Toolkit 4 Business with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. The unit also participates in international fora, LeadIT and the International Carbon Action Partnership (ICAP) to share policy perspectives and information on industry and the ETS.