117. Deputy Johnny Mythen asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the details of the funding that has been provided to Wexford County Council in the past five years to implement local climate action plans, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54888/26]

As a requirement of the Climate Act 2021, all 31 local authorities adopted Local Authority Climate Action Plans (LA CAPs) by Q1 2024. In 2022, my Department approved a funding proposal to allocate resources to local authorities to develop and implement their LA CAPs across three phases:

Phase 1: Establishing the evidence base.

Phase 2: Development of LA CAP.

Phase 3: Implementation.

A total of €3.3m was paid to local authorities for Phase 1 in 2022. A total of €4.7m was paid to local authorities for Phase 2 in 2023.

Local authorities are now in Phase 3. My Department signed a 5 year Service Level Agreement with all local authorities for Phase 3 from November 2023 - December 2028. A total of €5.3m was paid to local authorities in 2025 under Phase 3.

The table below provides a breakdown of the funding paid to Wexford County Council to implement their LA CAP. This does not include data for 2020 or 2021 as resourcing for LA CAPs commenced in 2022. Data for 2026 is currently unavailable as local authorities make a claim for reimbursement to my Department in Q4 of each year. In total, to date under the Phase 3 LA CAP, Wexford County Council has drawn down €600,256.

Earlier this year my Department approved a new €1.8m “DZ Demonstrator Fund” for all local authorities in 2026. This non-competitive funding has been provided to support projects and actions which are identified in each local authority’s LA CAP/DZ Register of Opportunities/Implementation Plan. Wexford County Council will be eligible to claim up to €56,500 in 2026 to support DZ measures.

The Community Climate Action Programme (CCAP) provides funding to all local authorities to support and empower communities to shape and build low carbon, sustainable communities. Phase 1 of Strand 1 of this programme provided €24m. Phase 2 of this programme is providing a total of €29.5m. Wexford County Council has been allocated €669,000 in Phase 1 and €746,067 in Phase 2 of the CCAP.

My Department works closely with local authorities to ensure their work continues to be supported and resourced. Engagement is carried out through key areas such as funding the Climate Action Regional Offices (CAROs), the Local Authority Climate Action Training Programme, and providing a support role to the EU Climate Neutral and Smart Cities Mission and Decarbonising Zones.