There was an earlier question. Without being disrespectful to the drafters of the written reply, maybe I gave a similar response to the first question today. I might, if I can, add to that the basic details of it - 28 actions, a series of annex reports, from former Secretary General of the Department of the Taoiseach, Mr. Dermot McCarthy, and from Cambridge Economic Policy Associates, CEPA. The key recognition is energy security. We could look at one issue, but it is first and foremost about reducing our use of ene…

The key parameter is the strategic outcome and the security. We want to have a vessel that is there and know it is not being used just to sell gas on. It will be there to provide a continuous level of security and will be operated in a way that gives us that. In terms of ownership, we need to get the lowest price for the Irish consumer. Without being definitive, maybe we could get a very good lease option on a vessel rather than a purchase option. In those circumstances, we would take the lease option because it is…

It absolutely has to be for the future of GNI. It has to see this transition as its own. I spoke at a recent conference and made a comparison, which I think is a useful one. Looking at Bord na Móna, four years ago it found itself in really challenging circumstances. It was legally required to stop the production of peat. It has turned matters around and is probably the most successful, fastest-growing, biggest-investing green company in the country, if not Europe. It is a model for how to transition from brown to g…

To capitalise on the considerable resource potential of our marine area, Government has adopted a phased approach to offshore renewable energy development in Ireland, with the overarching objective of achieving 5 GW of installed offshore wind capacity by 2030 and a net-zero economy by 2050. Phase one is intended to deliver the maximum competitively procured offshore wind capacity at the earliest feasible deployment stage, with the six most advanced offshore wind projects in Ireland having participated in our first …

I do not have the exact detail on the timeline, but I expect it in the coming months. Very shortly, we will set out the designated area and that will be followed by a further auction next year and the year after. Next year will be the next auction. It is to design them on a rolling, regular basis so that it gives certainty to industry and that we meet the 5 GW targets. What I should have mentioned in my opening response also is a further target of some 2 GW which we are looking to convert from power to energy, with…

I might answer that question first. It relates to an earlier question about grid connections and the crew looking at our connections policy. There is real potential for us to maximise the existing grid where we do have both solar and wind. They tend not to come at the same time. Windy days are typically cloudier, sunny days less so. It makes real sense to integrate wind and solar, as the Deputy suggested, and optimise the use of the grid. Going back to Deputy Stanton's question, part of that predictable, regular pr…

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 local authority climate action plan. The local authority climate action plans must be consistent with the most recently approved national climate plan and include both mitigation and adaptation measures. I requested each local authority to begin preparation of their plans on 24 February last. I issued the …

I agree with the Deputy about the resourcing of local authorities and the need to increase across a whole range of different areas. We have been doing this in the area of climate. We established the four climate action regional offices, CAROs. There may be smaller counties where there might be a total staff in the county of about 300, 400 or 500. That is difficult. Having regional offices with expertise and strength helps. They have been funded to the tune of €10 million. We have also put in new climate community l…

I accept Deputy Connolly's point on central government needing to show greater speed. I also accept the need for resources within our local authorities and we have to continue to review that. I will put one other point back to the Deputy. It is not just about the officials; it is also about the councillors because they are the elected representatives. They are the heart and the leaders within the council. In some of the areas it is not necessarily about financial commitment but about a sense of vision for the futur…

The better energy warmer homes scheme delivers a range of energy efficiency measures free of charge to households vulnerable to energy poverty. This year's budget of €148.5 million is the highest ever. Increased awareness of the multiple benefits of retrofit and improvements to the warmer home schemes is driving increased levels of demand for the scheme, with more than 20,000 applications received over the period from January 2022 to the end of September this year. The scheme is delivering deeper upgrades with more…

I absolutely accept the frustration about the long lead times and particularly around getting the BER to be able to make an application. We must be careful. We are putting significant funding into this and we have put in an additional €150 million. It is not a small investment, it has been massively ramped up and it will continue to become available. I keep reiterating that one of the benefits in this Government having the carbon tax system we do is that we know it is going to increase year on year and that a very …

I accept there are sound arguments about the benefits of the scheme. One way to speed up the process is to employ additional contractors. We are up to 36 contractors now. I have also been informed the SEAI has allocated additional staff to the warmer homes scheme, knowing the funding will increase year on year. There has been a major increase this year and there will be a further increase next year. The authority can employ those staff knowing there is a real balance. The SEAI is understandably worried that it migh…

Local authorities are responsible for municipal waste collection and waste management planning within their functional areas. It is open to any local authority to re-enter the waste collection market as direct service providers if it so chooses, either alongside existing permitted service providers or subject to making arrangements to replace those providers. Under section 60(3) of the Waste Management Act 1996, as Minister, I am precluded from exercising any power or control in relation to the performance by a loc…

The Deputy is right. In government, we can pass legislation, as could this House. This House, in the end, is the final arbiter. We have to have the numbers in the House. That is our democratic system. We have a waste action plan containing some 200 actions, and I see that as a central focus of what I and my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Ossian Smyth, want to deliver. As the Deputy says, we need to dramatically enhance our recycling levels, reduce the amount of waste and create a more circular economy. Th…

One of the things I am most proud of was to be a councillor on Dublin City Council for six years, from 1997 to 2002. In those years, as I remember, there were very lengthy debates about waste management, bin collection and bin services. Councillors sometimes have a hard decision because the gallery is right behind them rather than at a distance. I remember at the time taking a difficult decision in favour of the expansion of our bin service to include a brown bin and a green bin, as well as a black bin. Various par…

We need to do that with funding, first and foremost. If we could sit down and agree funding mechanisms for local authorities based on sustainable long-term commitments, that would make very real the people's ambitions for whatever new services we want to see local authorities delivering.

I am grateful for the opportunity to address the House on the Energy Charter Treaty, ECT. I will be sharing my time with my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Ossian Smyth, who has responsibility for the circular economy in my Department. I will update the House on the recent and current situation with the Energy Charter Treaty, while the Minister of State will address the future scenarios arising from the charter as things progress in this fast-moving area of energy policy. The Energy Charter Conference, an …

I thank the Deputy. As Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for overall policy and Exchequer funding for the national roads programme. Once funding arrangements are put in place with TII, under the Roads Acts 1993 to 2015, and in line with the national development plan, NDP, the planning, design, development and upgrading of individual national roads comprise a matter for TII in conjunction with the local authorities concerned. TIl ultimately delivers the national roads programme in line with Project Irela…

I agree with the Deputy that transport safety is the first imperative. As I said, in an environment where we have €100 billion of proposed projects and only €35 billion available, we need to have other interim solutions to address particular risky points or black spots and implement specific design measures at junctions that are particularly difficult. That is what I have argued for TII to do. In addition, on non-national and urban roads, we need to get local authorities to implement the lower speed limits the Gove…

I accept that valid point.