Malcolm Byrne (Wicklow-Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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850. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the specific measures taken in his Departmental offices and operations in reducing energy usage and to assist in Ireland meeting our climate targets for 2030; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23324/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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My Department published its most recent Climate Action Roadmap in September 2024, which includes details of actions taken, as well as future plans to meet Ireland’s Climate targets by 2030 in line with the Public Sector Climate Action Mandate 2024.

In accordance with that mandate, my Department:

has ongoing projects, working closely with the Office of Public Works & the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), to reduce our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across our buildings, through LED lighting, building fabric and heating system upgrades, including the deep retrofit currently in progress at one of our Departmental buildings, 6 Ely Place, under the Pathfinder programme.

Participates in ‘Optimising Power at Work’ and ‘Reduce Your Use’ programmes to influence staff behaviour to improve our energy efficiency in our buildings.

Has established Green Teams in every building to drive sustainability across the estate and within the various functions. They organise activities such as energy education and awareness sessions, clothes swaps, tree, flower and herb planting and are supported by a Green Steering Group chaired by the Climate and Sustainability Champion.

Promotes One Learning Climate Awareness course to all staff, includes Climate Awareness training for all new starters in our induction programme and has rolled out mandatory Climate Action Leadership training to all Senior Management (P.O. level or equivalent and above)

Reports on our GHG emissions, implementation of the mandate, sustainability activities and emissions offsetting for official air travel in our Annual Report and via the SEAI’s monitoring and reporting system.

Is implementing Green Public Procurement (GPP), using the Environmental Protection Agency and Office of Government Procurement’s GPP toolkit, to incorporate green criteria in procurement processes where available and appropriate.

Segregates all waste into 3 streams (general, recycling, and organic) and partners with the Dublin Simon community on the Return scheme.

Provides drinking water refill points in for all staff and in public buildings and is introducing catering policies to eliminate single use disposable cups, plates and cutlery from all buildings.

Promotes active travel and has created and maintains facilities to support it, achieving a Silver Smarter Travel Mark in the head office, has reduced staff parking in Dublin offices, and uses a zero emissions vehicle for transport of post and other materials between buildings.

In addition to the mandated actions, my Department:

Has a comprehensive ICT strategy running for over three years, aimed at streamlining operations and eliminating paper-based processes. This includes several large-scale transformation programmes across the Criminal Justice Sector, International Protection, and Immigration Service Delivery, which have removed significant volumes of paper from across the system.

Ensures that sustainability criteria are assessed as part of IT hardware procurement including procurement of servers, storage, firewalls, PCs and laptops and actively promotes awareness amongst staff of the climate impact of ICT and digital waste.

Has formalised and strengthened the governance arrangements with the bodies under our aegis regarding their climate action obligations.

The Climate Action Unit of my Department oversees the development and implementation of the Climate Action Roadmap and drives ongoing communication and climate awareness across the Department and with our agencies.