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Written Answers 28 November 2019 Written Answers. The following are questions tabled by Members for written response and the ministerial replies as received on the day from the Departments [unrevised]. Questions Nos. 1 to 7, inclusive, answered orally. 28/11/2019WRA00400National Broadband Plan Expenditure 28/11/2019WRA005008. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the amount spent to date on the national broadband plan; and the cost of external consultants, legal advice, services and internal departmental staff costs. [46267/19] 28/11/2019WRA00600Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment (Deputy Richard Bruton): The contract that I signed with National Broadband Ireland on 19 November is the Government’s plan to rollout high speed broadband to the 1.1 million people living and work- ing in the nearly 540,000 premises including almost 100,000 businesses and farms, along with 695 schools, where commercial operators will not commit to deliver the service. It will ensure that one quarter of the country mostly living in rural Ireland are not left be- hind. Without high speed broadband it will be much more difficult to sustain existing jobs or create new ones. It will make it possible for rural Ireland to take advantage of the opportuni- ties created by the digital economy, from health care to farming from education to agricultural development to tourism Officials working in the NBP Division of my Department, supported by a team of external expert advisers, have been working on this initiative since 2013. The total amount spent to date on the National Broadband Plan is €28.833 million. This amount is largely comprised of the cost of these external advisers, as well as other costs associated with the procurement process. These external advisers have provided advice across many areas of expertise including, tech- nical advice, financial and procurement advice, legal advice, economic and strategic advice, environmental advice and insurance and tax advice. The cost of external advisers to date is €28.16 million. My Department’s NBP team has also been supported by other officers across the Depart- ment. While the Department does not operate on a basis of allocating costs for each staff mem- ber across its range of functions, salary and other administration related costs for the Depart- ment are published in the annual Estimates and in the Appropriation Account. Questions Nos. 9 to 11, inclusive, answered orally. 28/11/2019WRA00800Air Quality 28/11/2019WRA0090012. Deputy James Browne asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the position regarding the implementation of the smoky fuel ban here particularly 1 Questions - Written Answers in County Wexford; when he plans to implement a nationwide ban; and if he will make a state- ment on the matter. [49052/19] 28/11/2019WRA01000Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment (Deputy Richard Bruton): Transitioning away from fossil fuels to more renewable, sustainable energy sources is at the heart of the Climate Action Plan. Currently 40% of our homes use coal and peat for heating, many in combination with other fossil fuel heating systems. By 2030, we will upgrade a third of all homes to at least a B2 en- ergy standard, installing approximately 400,000 heat pumps. Currently over 99% of our vehicle fleet is powered by fossil fuels. By 2030, nearly a million electric vehicles will be on our roads. These measures will significantly improve air quality by reducing emissions of harmful pollut- ants. Extending the ban on the use of smoky coal would also have a positive impact on air quality, particularly in built up areas. The ban on the marketing, sale and distribution of bituminous coal, or ‘the smoky coal ban’ as it is commonly known, was first introduced in Dublin in 1990, and subsequently extended to 26 major urban areas. My two predecessors proposed national extension of the smoky coal ban, but a number of coal firms have indicated that they would challenge the proposal of two former Ministers to extend the smoky coal ban. This is very disappointing. The basis of their challenge is that a nationwide smoky coal ban cannot be introduced with- out a nationwide ban on the burning of peat, turf and wet wood because these products produce similar levels of pollution. The legal threat is not only to take down any new nationwide ban, but to remove the existing ban which is currently in place in cities and many towns around the country. In that context, it is particularly important to ensure that the measures put forward are not vulnerable to legal challenge, and I am continuing to work to finalise a legally robust way for- ward which will improve air quality by reducing air pollution, without jeopardising the existing ban. I also intend to publish a Clean Air Strategy, which will set out a number of policies to im- prove air quality nationwide, in the coming months. My Department is also funding the Environmental Protection Agency’s roll-out of the Am- bient Air Quality Monitoring Programme (AAMP), which will greatly improve the data avail- able on air pollution in Ireland, facilitating the design and targeting of appropriate policy mea- sures to tackle it. Question No. 13 answered orally. 28/11/2019WRA01200Bord na Móna 28/11/2019WRA0130014. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if he has been briefed on the recommendations in the cross-party report on climate change specifically relating to the future of Bord na Móna; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43657/19] 2 28 November 2019 28/11/2019WRA01400Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment (Deputy Richard Bruton): I welcome the focus given by the Joint Committee on Climate Action in its report to the future of Bord na Mona and the Midlands region. The Committee correctly identified that, while all sectors face challenges transitioning to a low carbon economy, immediate interventions must be put in place in those locations and for those sectors imminently under threat, such as those whose livelihoods are dependent on Bord na Móna peat extraction activities. The Committee also highlighted the importance of exploring opportunities to green existing jobs, and create new jobs in areas such as energy retrofitting for buildings, sustainable forestry and peatland restoration. The Government has responded to this challenge in its Climate Action Plan, and subse- quently with funding allocated through Budget 2020 and the appointment of Just Transition Commissioner for the Midlands. The Climate Action Plan identifies the need to plan appropriately to ensure that those most affected by our transition to a low-carbon, climate resilient society are supported and equipped to contribute to this transition. The Plan sets out a number of actions to support this objective, including: - a programme of analysis to assess the economic and employment implications of the tran- sition to a low-carbon economy - the establishment of a Just Transition Review Group under NESC working group struc- tures to advise the Climate Action Delivery Board - supporting the work of the Midlands Regional Transition Team, the Midlands Regional Enterprise Strategy and the Midlands Regional Skills Forum - identifying sources of funding that could be used to support the transition to a low-carbon economy and society, including inclusion of peat in the EU Coal Platform on transition. Building on the actions in the Climate Action Plan, Budget 2020 allocated funding to sup- port a Just Transition in the Midlands region, comprising: - €20 million for a new energy efficiency retrofitting scheme with the social housing stock in the region at its core, but enabling private homeowners to opt-in - €5 million for peatland rehabilitation - €6 million for a dedicated new Just Transition Fund, with ESB agreeing to contribute an additional €5 million to this fund bringing its total value to €11m. My Department is in discussions with the European Commission with a view to making a state aid application for PSO support for an enhanced peat land restoration and rehabilitation scheme in the midlands. This is currently being processed through the State Aid pre-notification procedure. The Government has appointed Mr Kieran Mulvey as the Just Transition Commissioner to facilitate discussions and work with stakeholders to develop, mobilise, and deliver opportuni- ties for the Midlands. The Commissioner will collaborate with, and build on the work under- taken by, the existing local taskforces to ensure that locally generated ideas and projects are brought forward for consideration for funding from the Just Transition Fund. I published the terms of reference for the work of the Just Transition Commissioner on 19 November 2019. 3 Questions - Written Answers Question No. 15 answered orally. 28/11/2019WRA01600Bord na Móna 28/11/2019WRA0170016. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the actions he is taking to secure employment for Bord na Móna employees who are the first staff to lose their jobs as a result of the decision by the ESB to cease the operation of west Offaly and Lough Ree power plants. [49068/19] 28/11/2019WRA01800Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment (Deputy Richard Bruton): The managed transition out of peat envisaged by Bord na Móna has been signifi- cantly impacted by the An Bord Pleanála decision to refuse planning permission for ESB’s West Offaly Power station beyond the end of 2020 and the subsequent ESB decision to withdraw a planning permission application for the Lough Ree Power station. Government has already taken significant steps to ensure that a just transition for the Mid- lands is adequately supported. This includes: - €6 million for a Just Transition Fund, targeted at the Midlands, to support the retraining and reskilling of workers and to assist local communities and businesses in the Region to adjust to the low carbon transition.
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