Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 June 2023
249. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform if he will report on the capacity of public sector bodies to deliver climate action identifying action areas, as outlined in the Climate Action Plan annex of actions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31185/23]
View answerThe Climate Action Plan 2023 action commits to the development of a report on capacity within the public sector to deliver on climate action. This action is broken down into two separate steps. The first is to complete a review of capacity within the public sector to deliver climate action by the end of quarter 2 2023. The second is to consider any recommendations arising from the review with a view to presenting any relevant proposals to the Climate Action Delivery Board by the end of this year.
The Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform are the lead for the first part of action, and have commissioned the Institute of Public Administration (IPA) to conduct this review. The project is overseen by a Steering Committee comprised of representatives from the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform, the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications, and the Department of the Taoiseach.
The IPA commenced an assessment of climate capacity across the civil service in November 2022. The key objective of this research is to help inform how the civil service can deliver on the significant challenges that the system faces in planning, implementing and updating climate action goals.
The project includes a review of relevant literature on the knowledge, skills and capabilities necessary to support climate action, along with an assessment of potential barriers to climate action implementation and building capacity within other jurisdictions. Interviews were also conducted with a wide range of stakeholders to understand the challenges and opportunities that exist for strengthening capacity, and these were supplemented with workshops and focus groups to review and validate findings.
This work is at an advanced stage, with publication of the final report anticipated in shortly.
