Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
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96. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if he is aware that food waste is second-biggest contributor to climate breakdown and is responsible for 8-10% of global greenhouse gas emission; his plans to address this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1459/25]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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Tackling food waste is one of the key steps we can take to achieve sustainability, to help combat climate change, and to support the transition to a circular economy and bioeconomy. Ireland is committed to reducing food waste by 50% by 2030 in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The Department published Ireland’s National Food Waste Prevention Roadmap 2023-2025 in November 2022. The Roadmap sets out a number of priority actions to bring the focus on food waste prevention, across key sectors in the food supply chain, together in a coherent manner.

The thirty-eight actions included in the Roadmap are focused on areas such as food waste measurement and reporting, food waste segregation, surplus food donation and redistribution, research and innovation, green public procurement, and delivering sustained communications and awareness-raising to help change behaviours.

The Department will continue to progress the implementation of the priority actions included in the National Food Waste Prevention Roadmap 2023-2025. The outcome of the process regarding proposed legally binding food waste reduction targets to be achieved by Member States by 2030, that are currently being considered at EU level, will also inform further focused actions on food waste prevention into the future.