I congratulate the Leas-Cheann Comhairle on her elevation to the post. I have started to read the book she recommended to me. The EU green deal is an exciting moment for Europe and it offers the opportunity for Europe to change something for the good globally. It is important that we use this opportunity to make sure other countries, which are in a less strong position to take on those challenges, are supported. The earlier we signal the direction of aid, the better for the adoption of an approach that will be sust…

The Taoiseach will be well aware of the tragic killings that have occurred in the Coolock Garda district. He will also be aware from his time as Minister for education that it is also an area that has the lowest progression to further and higher education in the country. Former assistant commissioner, Mr. Jack Nolan, is completing an evaluation of what needs to be done to address the complex issues in that area. I warmly welcome the commitment in the programme for Government that the approach taken in the north inn…

I am sure the Taoiseach, as a former Minister with responsibility for education - I have another here beside me - will value the major changes that are occurring in apprenticeships. We are going from 25 traditional apprenticeships to 100 potential new apprenticeships. One of the things that has been holding this back is the very limited involvement of the public service in apprenticeships. Will the Taoiseach consider, through either the July stimulus package or the national economic plan, providing for the public s…

It is an honour to have the opportunity to make a transition statement at this time, as we are almost at the first anniversary of the publication of Ireland's first ever whole-of-government climate action plan, which was published around 17 June last year. We have made significant progress in both the Oireachtas and the Government over that period. For example, the Oireachtas unanimously declared a climate and biodiversity emergency and the Government published the scheme of the Bill which will revolutionise the wa…

Yes.

The way those targets are evaluated is that it is the cumulative number between 2013 and 2020. It is not the number in 2020. In 2013, 2014 and 2015, we were ahead of target. We were exceeding what was expected, but that, of course, was because of the depressed economy. In 2016 and 2018, we undid all that and went on a rising trend. We are about balance, however, so the two years in which we will exceed the targets are 2019 and 2020. We do not know where we stand in 2020 because Covid-19 has had an impact on what th…

The target is not a 2020 target. It is a cumulative target we must hit. We will certainly not be down 20% in 2020 unless the impact of Covid-19 has a huge impact on our reduction, because the 2019 figures are well ahead of where we should be. The reality is that we were in credit in the early period. I am not claiming that is a great thing, but the trouble is that our trajectory is in the wrong position. Our trends for 2019 and 2020 are in the wrong direction and we need to take a steep turn back. We do not have th…

It is best if the Deputy looks at the climate action plan rather than the transition-----

Let me try to answer to the best of my ability. The climate action plan indicated that if we did nothing, we would be 58 million tonnes off target by the end of the decade. The purpose of the climate action plan was to get us back on a track where we would wipe out that deficit. That plan has been published and, roughly speaking, it indicates a 3.5% annual reduction in our emissions. It allocates them to each sector, with specific measures outlined as to how the reductions will be delivered. Regarding the detailed …

I fully accept that we need consultation in the areas referred to by the Deputy. However, we must deliver a very ambitious increase in both forestry and wind farms. The Deputy is correct that offshore wind energy represents a significant opportunity for us. We have pencilled it in for 3.5 GW of power and, as such, it would be a very significant part of the story over the next decade. It has the potential to provide an even greater amount of power. The Deputy is correct that the concentration of forestry is a source…

While I fully accept the value of woodlands in urban areas and the importance that we, in our urban living, put on natural resources, I am not in a position to comment on the specific case the Deputy raises. Coillte is not an agency under my Department so, unfortunately, I cannot comment on the merits of the case being put forward, although it sounds persuasive as the Deputy sets it out. While I can assure the Deputy that balanced regional development will be a core commitment in any programme for Government, I am …

As the Deputy has recognised, remote working and remote delivery of health services are really transformative opportunities. In the health area they have taken huge pressure off our hospital system. We are beginning to see that digital technology can revolutionise our environment. For remote working, the estimate is that 10 KW hours per remote worker - a person who opts for that - per day is what is saved. I have asked my Department to calculate what that will be in carbon emissions but it is significant. If we cut…

The Deputy is right in saying the climate action delivery board is an important element. I was Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation in 2016 when we designed the climate action plan, which was designed to get every Department on board with the primary challenge at the time, namely, to create employment. It operated through the Department of the Taoiseach to hold people to account for commitments that had been made. That model is vital if we are to achieve this, and the fact that it is coming from the centre …

That is fine.

We have a long-term strategy to which we have to commit and which we have to deliver to the European Union. We are committed that it will contain an element of net zero, which will be our target for 2050. The Department has been giving thought to what new policies we need to introduce under the EU Green New Deal because that is moving from a 40% to a 55% target on 1990 levels. Clearly, this has implications for us. Our Department has therefore been evaluating the sorts of options that could dramatically increase ou…

Absolutely, the 2030 target that we have to reach at the moment is for a 30% reduction in non-ETS areas. Many people talk about the 30% target, but that excludes electricity. We have put in place measures that we believe will deliver that. In any event, the EU has stepped up its ambition although it is using a 1990 target. The EU ambition is for a 50% to 55% reduction on a 1990 target. That is approximately 35% to 40% on where the EU is today. We are going to have to step up our ambition in the same way. We can exp…

I have listened to all parties in this House, and no party that I have heard has indicated that it plans to set targets for a reduction of the national herd. What Teagasc has done is shown the immense opportunities that exist not only in farming methods, where it believes we can deliver a 3 metric tonnes reduction, but also in land use where potential lies in areas like forestry, restricting agriculture on organic soils, grassland management and in replacing fossil fuels. Many of those technologies are more uncerta…

I welcome Deputy Whitmore's comments. She is absolutely right that we have not had the legislative framework to allow for a focus on delivery. However, this is the last time we will have transition statements in this House, as they are a legacy of the 2015 legislation. The new legislation, the general scheme of which was published in December, sets out the new approach which will be very much results-oriented. As we discussed earlier, there will be an implementation board in the Department of the Taoiseach which wi…

On the first issue, the Deputy is correct in that peat harvesting has got into a difficult planning process. The right to harvest was challenged in the courts. It was found that to resolve those issues a substitute planning would have to be lodged by Bord na Móna. Permission has been granted by An Bord Pleanála to lodge that application and it has been lodged by Bord na Móna. This is a complex planning process which has held up peat harvesting very considerably. We were working on introducing new support measures l…

The position is that a key pillar of the clean air strategy was the approach to banning smoky fuels. Deputy Naughten will be aware of the desire to extend the smoky coal ban nationwide. This ran into a difficulty legally in that no distinction could be drawn on an environmental basis between the impact of peat and the impact of coal. This made a nationwide ban legally uncertain. I took the decision to extend the existing smoky coal ban to a series of towns representing those where the evidence shows a significant h…