Climate assessment in spending code
Deputy Ryan queried reports that climate assessment rules in the public spending code had been tightened for capital projects. The Minister of State said the Department is aware of the issues and the Minister wants to examine how future budget and capital rules will work.
We are about to go to the next meeting of the Joint Committee on Climate Action, at which the Secretaries General from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and the Department of Finance will make a presentation. We hear in advance that there has been reform of the public spending code such that, from now on, in respect of any project and its climate assessment, the arrangement will apply at triple the rate of carbon, with a much lower discount rate and a tapering out of that discount rate over time. This is totally different from the way in which projects have been assessed to date. In that context and given that we are no way near meeting any of our climate targets, will the Taoiseach conduct a review of the existing national development plan, which was agreed only six months ago without any climate assessment? There was a carbon price and it was one third of what it should have been. There was an inappropriate discount rate. Will the Taoiseach review the national development plan given the public spending code reform that has just been agreed?
Comment on this
As Deputy Ryan will be aware from replies to questions to the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform and from the Minister's budget speech, the Minister is keen to drill down further into the specific issues raised today in respect of how the budget will be constructed in the future and how public spending codes will be constructed in the future vis-à-vis capital investment. This is a matter of which the Department is acutely aware.