Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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31. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he has outlined the opportunity that exists in relation to the use of hydrotreated vegetable oil to members of county councils and the Commission; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46191/22]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO), is among a number of renewable fuels used in the transport sector, but also has uses in other sectors for example home heating. In transport, HVO is a biofuel which can be blended with diesel and is produced from waste feedstocks such as used cooking oil (UCO) or tallow. It is a particularly relevant to the ongoing decarbonisation of hard to abate sectors such as road haulage.

Biofuels are a core transitional technology relied upon for the medium-term reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the road transport sector. In 2021, under the renewable transport fuel obligation approximately 246m litres (7.6 PJ) of liquid biofuel and 618k Nm3 (0.2 PJ) of gaseous biofuel were placed on the market; approximately 623kt of carbon savings were awarded in respect of those disposals.

The Renewable Fuel for Transport Policy Statement 2021 sets out the pathway to the achievement of Climate Action Plan targets and European obligations concerning renewable transport fuel. This is implemented through the renewable transport fuel blending obligation on fuel suppliers, as set out under Part 5A of the National Oil Reserves Agency Act 2007.

Among the aims of the renewable transport fuel policy is to ensure sustainability and GHG reduction criteria are met, and to incentivise advanced and development renewable fuels supply in the transport sector. In this regards, officials of my Department engage with the European Commission on an ongoing bases, including through the working group on sustainability, set up under the Renewable Energy Directive.

This year the Department undertook a stakeholder and public consultation, on the renewable transport fuel policy implementation and future direction; and will publish a summary report of this consultation shortly. The written consultation sought views concerning the incentivisation of the supply of HVO for use in the road transport sector. It is noted that there was no submission received from local authorities as part of the consultation process.

Work is also ongoing to ensure that the suite of measures set out in the renewable transport fuel policy are enabled through legislation and are implemented within the timeframes set out in the policy.

The future approach for the next iteration of the policy on renewable transport fuel will be the focus of a consultation in early 2023. The report of the study commissioned by the Department concerning the sustainability and availability of biofuels including HVO, which is at an advanced stage, will further inform the future Policy.