Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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123. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment what engagement he or his Department has had with Galway City and County Councils to-date in 2023 with regard to the development of their Local Authority Climate Action Plans, and in particular in relation to the development of their decarbonising zones; the expected timeline for the implementation of the decarbonising zones; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19863/23]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021 strengthens the role of Local Authorities for effective climate action.

It sets out a statutory requirement for each Local Authority to prepare a Climate Action Plan within 12 months from when a request to the sector to begin the preparation of such plans issues. The Local Authority Climate Action Plan is valid for five years once adopted. The local Climate Action Plans have to be consistent with the most recent approved national climate plan and will include both mitigation and adaptation measures.

A request to each Local Authority to begin preparation of their plans was made by me on 24 February 2023. I launched the statutory guidelines to support Local Authorities in preparing and implementing their local climate plans on 6 March 2023.

The guidelines are accompanied by four technical annexes:

• Technical Annex A: Developing and Implementing the Local Authority Climate Action Plan

• Technical Annex B: Climate Change Risk Assessment

• Technical Annex C: Climate Mitigation Assessment

• Technical Annex D: Decarbonising Zones

As per the guidelines, each local plan must include a decarbonising zone as selected by the Local Authority. A separate technical annex has been developed to assist Local Authorities with preparing their decarbonising zone.

My Department has had no specific, direct engagement with Galway City Council or Galway County Council in relation to the Local Authority Climate Action Plan in 2023.

Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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125. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment when he intends to launch a public consultation into the use of direct lines and private wires; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19746/23]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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Climate Action Plan 23 includes a commitment to carry out a public consultation on Private Wires and a deadline for publication of Q4 2023 has been set. Private wires are an issue that is of interest and importance to many stakeholders. The policy area of Private Wires is broad in nature and as such detailed consideration must go into formulating the consultation in order to ensure that all aspects of the policy area are considered.

Publishing a consultation and, ultimately, providing a clear policy position on the issue of Private Wires is a priority for my Department. Work on this policy area is ongoing within my Department with my officials engaging directly in recent months with interested stakeholders as part of the consultation formulation process. I intend that the consultation will be published during Q2 however at this point I am not able to provide an exact publication date.

My officials look forward to their continued engagement with interested stakeholders as they continue to develop this important policy area.