Written Answers Nos. 46-61
46. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the reason for the three-year delay in delivering an up-to-date long-term climate strategy, specifying how the Government aims to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, as required under domestic and EU climate law; when he expects to be in a position to deliver this plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20355/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraIreland’s current Long-term Strategy on Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reductions was approved by Government on Tuesday, 25 April 2023 and is available on gov.ie
While a comprehensive draft was prepared in 2019, publication was deferred in order to reflect the enhanced ambition brought about by the 2020 Programme for Government. That enhanced ambition includes:
• a legally binding national 2050 climate neutrality target;
• provision for a 51% reduction in greenhouse gases by 2030 compared to 2018 levels;
• national Carbon Budgets and Sectoral Emissions Ceilings and an updated Climate Action Plan published in December 2022, which sets out the policies, measures, and actions to achieve our climate targets.
The current Long-term Strategy now complements and builds upon these climate policy developments ensuring coherent and effective climate policy. It is underpinned by analysis of transition options across each key sector of the economy and sets out indicative pathways that provide a crucial link between Ireland’s 2030 climate targets and the long-term goal set by Ireland’s ‘National Climate Objective’ and the European Climate Law.
The current strategy has been shaped by cross-departmental input and responses received to an extensive public consultation in 2019. Notwithstanding this, my Department will shortly launch a second consultation on the strategy in light of important climate policy developments since then. This will form the basis for preparing an updated Strategy by the end of this year as committed to in the Annex of Actions that accompanied Climate Action Plan 2023.
47. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if, in the context of budget 2024, he would consider the restoration of the 50% SEAI grant rate on solar PV for community groups facing extreme pressure on running costs, with many facing closure; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20399/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraUnfortunately, this was a situation where housing was delivered first and the transport has lagged behind. Since this train station closed in the 1960s, the area has seen a massive rise in population of approximately 300%. About 8,000 people live within 5 km of this station. If you extrapolate from those figures, the population numbers get higher and higher. The line is there. It already exists. What is lacking to provide a reliable and sustainable mode of public transport for people in that area is for the trains to stop at a train station.
48. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if he will provide clarity on the rules surrounding the issuance of fines by local authorities for fly tipping or illegal dumping; if he will also clarify in terms of GDPR whether a fine can be issued where a member of the public finds contact details in illegally dumped materials; and, if this is not the case, if he will consider implementing changes to encourage this type of action by members of the public. [20427/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraGiven its location, it would service more than the town of Killucan.
49. Deputy Paul Kehoe asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if he will outline his Department’s work in advancing the opportunity for Ireland in terms of offshore renewable energy. [20433/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraInniu, táthar ag dréim go n-ardóidh an Banc Ceannais Eorpach rátaí úis don seachtú huair ó bhí mí Iúil ann. Tiocfaidh sé seo mar bhuille eile do na mílte teaghlaigh. Is é anois an t-am chun faoiseamh úis mhorgáiste a thabhairt isteach chun tacú leis na teaghlaigh seo. Today the European Central Bank is widely expected to increase interest rates again. This would be the seventh time it has done so since July. This will come as a hammer blow to hundreds of thousands of families. It will immediately affect those 250,000 families and households with a mortgage on a tracker rate and it will hit the pockets of tens of thousands of households whose mortgages have been sold to vulture funds. Many of these households are being charged interest rates as high as 8%. They are now set to receive the seventh letter through the post informing them of a further rate hike and a further increase in their monthly mortgage repayments. This all comes at a time of great financial pressure for these families who are already being squeezed and whose finances are being stretched by a cost-of-living crisis, with the rise in food prices, transport costs and energy bills all bearing down heavily on them.
Last week, we heard from the Central Bank that one in five households are seeing their mortgage repayments increase by €400 per month. This is €5,000 per year. A borrower who recently reached out to me told me that her mortgage repayments had increased by €523 per month. This is an increase of more than €6,000 per year. Another person reached out to me to voice her desperation. Her loan was sold a number of years ago to a vulture fund. She has seen her interest rate increase time and time again. She said "I'm so stressed by this. My mental health is suffering. I have young children and I'm trapped in this cycle."
Last week, Sinn Féin brought a motion before this House calling for the introduction of targeted and temporary mortgage interest relief to support struggling families with rising mortgage costs. The proposal we put forward was a scheme that would absorb 30% of the rise in mortgage costs with a maximum benefit for households of up to €1,500. It was a sensible proposal that would make a real difference to countless families out there and take the sharp edge off the sudden and significant spike in interest rates these workers and families are facing.
It was a mistake for the Government to reject this proposal. The Government has claimed that it cannot act until the budget in October. Can I remind the Tánaiste that in the past number of weeks, his Government has announced tax changes on petrol, diesel and solar panels and tax changes for the hospitality and tourism sector and has removed levies for developers? All of this is outside the normal budget cycle at a cost of hundreds of millions of euro. Therefore, the argument that nothing can be done to support these families in the here and now with rising mortgage costs before October is simply a nonsense. As mortgage costs soar for hundreds of thousands of struggling households, the State can and should step in to support them and give them that type of relief. Now is not the time for excuses. Now is the time for action. Now is the time to be on the side of mortgage holders and to give them relief. As we see the cost to mortgage holders to keep a roof over their heads increase, people paying 8% - a figure that will increase after today's decision - and people being charged thousands of euro more than this time last year, will the Government finally introduce temporary and targeted mortgage interest relief, as Sinn Féin has proposed, to provide much-needed support for them? If it does not do so, what will it say to those families? What is it going to do? What type of relief will it offer, or will it just wash its hands and abandon them?
50. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the status of the statutory obligation imposed on An Post under the Postal and Telecommunications Services Act 1983 (details supplied); if he is aware that retired postal workers are now being treated less favourably in terms of their pension entitlements in apparent contravention of the obligation in the Act; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20487/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraUnder section 46 of the Postal and Telecommunications Services Act 1983, the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, with the concurrence of the Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform, approves any superannuation schemes submitted by An Post. The operation of the schemes is a matter between the management of An Post, staff representatives and the trustees of the schemes. I have asked An Post to correspond directly with the Deputy on this matter.
51. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications further to Parliamentary Question No. 12 of 19 April 2023, the reason the total percentage(s) for the better energy warmer homes, better energy warmth and well-being, better energy homes, solar PV and national homes retrofit (on-stop shop) SEAI schemes do not add up to 100%; if there are data missing; and, if so, if the absence can be explained. [20561/23]
Amharc ar fhreagra
The reductions in excise on petrol and diesel will continue until 1 June and about 1.3 million pensioners and so on are also benefiting in terms of additional social welfare payments. Our cost-of-living programme through the first half of this year has been designed by us in a comprehensive way. I think it is a better approach than just picking out things sector-by-sector every month, which is the knee-jerk response of the Opposition.
54. Deputy Noel Grealish asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if he and his Department support the conservation of invasive perch in Derryclare Lough under the Conservation of Coarse Fish Bye-Law No. 806 of 2006, to the detriment of the marginalised native Arctic char population and other native salmonids, particularly Atlantic salmon and brown trout (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20605/23]
Amharc ar fhreagra55. Deputy Noel Grealish asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if he and his Department support the conservation of invasive perch in Lough Shindilla under the Conservation of Coarse Fish Bye-Law No. 806 of 2006, to the detriment of the marginalised native Arctic char population and native brown trout population (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20606/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 54 and 55 together.
The Conservation of Coarse Fish Bye-Law No. 806 of 2006 referred to by the Deputy relates to measures concerning the catching and retaining of all coarse species including perch. The Bye-Law is in force for the last 17 years on a National basis.
As recently advised by my officials at a meeting of the Angling Consultative Council of Ireland, a review of Bye-Laws in force for 10 years or more and their application will be commenced shortly. It is intended that Bye-Law 806 of 2006 will be reviewed early in that process.
56. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if he is aware of plans by a company (details supplied) to significantly increase fees for waste collection across black, green and brown bins; if he is also aware that there is no competition in terms of waste collection across large swathes of north County Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20608/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraThat is not something to be sniffed at or dismissed like the Deputy did earlier.
57. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications when the national energy and climate plan will be published. [20642/23]
Amharc ar fhreagra
58. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the measures undertaken by local authorities in terms of CCTV monitoring of illegal dumping, including dog fouling, since the enactment of the Circular Economy and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2022, in tabular form. [20689/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraLocal authorities are currently not in a position to use CCTV to monitor illegal dumping.
In order to address data protection concerns, Sections 22 & 33 of the Circular Economy and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2022 require that the Local Government Management Agency (LGMA) prepare and submit to me, in my role as Minister, for approval, draft codes of practice for the purpose of setting standards for the operation of CCTV and other mobile recording devices, in order to deter environmental pollution and facilitate the prevention, detection, and prosecution of littering (Section 33) and illegal dumping (Section 22) offences. The preparation of Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs) is also required as part of this process, which the LGMA are currently progressing.
The draft Codes of Practice will be submitted to me by the LGMA for approval as soon as practicable. Once approved, local authorities will then be able to put in place both litter and waste enforcement measures involving the GDPR-compliant use of technologies such as CCTV.
59. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if he will outline the schemes of grants and eligibility conditions for improving energy efficiency in private homes, including upgrading work such as insulation and installation or replacement of boilers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20698/23]
Amharc ar fhreagra60. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if persons who need to carry out energy efficiency works in their private homes can avail of grant aid under existing schemes where some years ago small-scale grant aid was availed of by homeowners to carry out improvement works and further additional improvement works are now needed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20699/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 59 and 60 together.
The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) has a number of schemes in place to support homeowners to upgrade their properties including the fully funded Better Energy Warmer Homes Scheme and a number of part-funded schemes such as the Better Energy Homes Scheme and the Community Energy Grant Scheme, as well as the National Home Energy Upgrade Scheme (NHEUS) which was established last year. This allows homeowners to choose the best home upgrade option to suit their particular needs.
Details of the various energy upgrade schemes are available on the SEAI website at: www.seai.ie/grants/home-energy-grants/
Under the SEAI home energy upgrade schemes, the general principle applies whereby grant funding can only be issued once per measure per property.
However, under the National Home Energy Upgrade Scheme, where the One Stop Shop determines through the Home Energy Assessment and Heat Loss Indicator assessment that a second wall insulation is required to meet the heat pump requirement, then grant support for a second measure is permitted as follows:
• Internal Wall Insulation is eligible where cavity has previously been funded.
• External wall insulation is eligible where either cavity or internal wall insulation has been funded.
In addition, as part of the enhanced package of measures announced by Government in February 2022, changes were introduced to the eligibility criteria for the fully funded Warmer Homes Scheme to open the Scheme for homeowner ‘revisits’ thereby allowing them to apply for deeper energy upgrade measures under the scheme.
Following the introduction of the new measures, 27,200 home energy upgrades were supported in 2022, which represents a 79% increase year-on year.
My Department is working with SEAI to build on the strong performance achieved in 2022 and so far this year. A record €356 million in funding has been allocated to SEAI for residential and community retrofit for 2023 to support the delivery of 37,000 retrofits this year. Figures to end of March 2023 show 9,946 home energy upgrades have been delivered so far this year.
61. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications to outline Government policy on the importation of LNG and the commercial development of LNG infrastructure; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20722/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn May 2021 the Government published its Policy Statement on the Importation of Fracked Gas. This policy sets out that pending the outcome of the review of the security of energy supply of Ireland’s electricity and natural gas systems, it would not be appropriate for Ireland to permit or proceed with the development of any LNG terminals.
The Review is focused on the period to 2030, but in the context of ensuring a sustainable transition up to 2050. The range of measures being examined as part of the Review include the need for additional capacity to import energy, energy storage, fuel diversification, demand side response and renewable gases. My Department is now at an advanced stage of completing this review. A detailed technical analysis has been published and an extensive consultation process has been carried out. The response to the consultation was extensive with over 450 submissions received from a broad range of individuals and organisations. The consultation responses were reviewed and analysed, and they have provided important insights on a number of aspects such as risks, mitigation options and policy measures.
My Department is currently preparing energy security recommendations. I will bring my recommendations arising from the review to Government in Q2 for their consideration.
