Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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24. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will outline the targets for 2023 for the climate division of his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21492/23]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for his question.

The Climate Division in the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform has responsibility for oversight of capital investment policies and advises the Minister and Government on the public expenditure implications of climate action. The Climate Division drives the implementation of the NDP in the context of Project Ireland 2040 and has responsibility for the management of the following Votes: Transport; Agriculture, Fisheries & the Marine; OPW; Communications, Climate and the Environment; Foreign Affairs; and Overseas Development.

The key targets for the Climate Division in 2023 include

• Robust monitoring of the expenditure implications of both national and international climate policies to understand the potential costs associated with achieving climate targets, and to ensure that the Department’s policies and tools take sufficient account of climate considerations. This is a multi-faceted programme of work that builds on the progress made in previous years to help shape policymaking in a way that is financially sustainable and represents the best use of available resources.
• This work is supported by the Climate Research Unit within the Division, whose objective is to undertake analysis on the wider potential economic implications of climate policies and the potential compliance costs associated with climate targets. The Climate Research Unit is working in collaboration with the Department of Finance and the Economic & Social Research Institute to estimate the macroeconomic and fiscal impacts of the State’s climate action measures, and examine the distributional impacts of climate policy on the Irish economy and the costs that individual households and businesses are likely to face as a result of the climate transition. This work programme will also strengthen co-operation and skills transfer between the ESRI, the Department of Finance and the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery, and Reform.
• Another key objective of the Climate Division for 2023 is to effectively monitor delivery of Project Ireland 2040 and the National Development Plan. This includes providing oversight and guidance in relation to ongoing reform of infrastructure guidelines and conducting in-depth technical reviews of business cases for major infrastructure projects through the Major Projects Advisory Group. Conducting economic analysis on wider issues related to construction sector capacity and productivity is another core objective within this workstream, to provide important insights to support timely delivery of key infrastructure milestones.
• The Climate Division also has responsibility for the implementation of performance reporting and driving progress in the development and application of budgeting tools such as well-being, green and equality budgeting. These are designed to bring a greater level of transparency and accountability to how public money is being spent, and strengthen the link between expenditure allocations and the delivery of public service outputs and outcomes.
• Finally, the Climate Division has ongoing targets in respect of effective oversight and monitoring of expenditure in relation to each of the following Votes – Agriculture Food and the Marine, Transport, the Office of Public Works, Environment, Climate and Communications and Foreign Affairs – in line with the annual budgetary cycle and to enable the Division to meet our objective of providing high quality advice in relation to these Vote Groups, including in respect of bodies operating under the aegis of these Departments.