James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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128. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will provide an update on the work undertaken by his Department to address recent targets included in the climate action plan pertaining to capital projects contained within the national development plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10296/23]

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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130. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will report on the progress of NSO 8 in the national development plan - "Transition to Climate Neutral and Climate Resilient Society"; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10591/23]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 128 and 130 together.

At the outset it should be noted that my Department, in carrying out its role in coordinating the National Development Plan Review, did not consider the merit of individual projects or sectoral policy strategies as this is primarily a matter for individual Departments and Agencies.

National Strategic Objective (NSO) 8 seeks the Transition to a Climate-Neutral and Climate-Resilient Society. The next ten years are critical in order to address the climate crisis and we have significantly stepped up our climate ambition by committing to reduce our overall greenhouse gas emissions by 51% by 2030, and to achieving net zero emissions by 2050.

The updated Climate Action Plan is led by the Minister for Environment, Climate and Communications on behalf of the Government. The National Development Plan was reviewed in 2021 and approved by Government. All public capital policy interventions, including those that might be developed to support climate action, will need to be afforded within the parameters detailed in the National Development Plan 2021 - 2030 which sets out a level of investment well above the EU average.

It was not the role of the NDP Review to set out a specific blueprint for the achievement of the Climate Action Plan actions. Rather, the Departments in receipt of the capital investment allocations are directly responsible for developing a detailed suite of policies and measures to maximise the impact of this planned investment in delivering actions and achieving targets detailed in the Climate Action Plan. It is the effective implementation of these policies, which will need to blend regulation, behavioural change and taxation measures with direct Government investment that will lead to the achievement of Ireland’s climate ambitions.

During the development of the NDP my Department did, however, undertake an assessment of the climate & environmental impact of NDP Measures with reference to seven climate and environmental criteria (Climate Mitigation, Climate Adaptation, Water Quality, Air Quality, Waste & Circular Economy, Nature & Biodiversity, and Just Transition). This report is available to download at the gov.ie website. In total, 128 measures were assessed. 67% of these measures are deemed, on balance, as being likely to have a net favourable impact on climate and environmental outcomes. 17% are deemed likely to have no significant impact on climate and environmental outcomes, while 16% of measures may have a net unfavourable impact on climate and environmental outcomes. Critically however, it should be noted that this does not mean that these measures are incompatible with the achievement of Ireland’s climate and environmental objectives or that the measure in question should not proceed. Rather it highlights projects for which there is a need for a strong focus on ensuring that the climate and environmental impact of this investment is minimised insofar as possible, and for which, where feasible, Departments should consider going beyond the minimum requirements imposed by legislation and put in place complimentary measures that can offset or negate any potentially harmful impacts that have been identified.

Over the period out to 2030 an additional €5 billion of the expected €9.5 billion in additional carbon tax receipts will be invested in energy efficiency. In terms of strategic investment priorities for the energy sector, this includes supporting the delivery of offshore renewable energy, retrofitting of 500,000 homes, and the installation of 600,000 heat pumps. Specific projects include the Celtic Interconnector, which will be, when completed in 2026, Ireland’s largest electricity interconnector. Strategic investment priorities for Transport include the transition to a low or zero emissions public bus fleet, an additional 500,000 sustainable journeys per day and nearly one million electric vehicles on the road by 2030. In addition, there are a wide range of major flood risk management projects planned throughout the country, for example the Lower Lee flood relief scheme.

These are just some of the many investments which will be delivered under this national strategic objective in the coming years to support Project Ireland 2040. Further details on projects, by NSO, can be found on the investment tracker on gov.ie/2040.