Energy Prices
99. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the measures he is taking to address the high cost of energy; if he is planning to rule out categorically an additional levy on household bills to contribute to the proposed strategic emergency gas reserve; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30270/25]
On 4 March this year, I received Government approval to proceed with the development of the State-led strategic gas emergency reserve, securing Ireland's energy system, which all would agree is essential. I will continue to take decisive action to protect Ireland's economy and citizens from the potential of a catastrophic impact on or disruption to our gas supplies.
The delivery of temporary gas reserves is critical to Ireland's energy security as we continue the transition to indigenous, clean renewable energy. Crucially, the strategic gas emergency reserve will also ensure compliance with EU standards and regulation. In identifying this as the optimal approach, the Department has built upon the extensive review of the security of Ireland's gas and electricity systems published in the energy security package in November 2023. The emergency reserve will be in the form of a floating storage and regasification unit to be owned on behalf of the State by the system operator, Gas Networks Ireland, GNI.
The standard approach for cost recovery for security of supply measures and investment to meet EU regulations is through the existing regulatory framework and is achieved over the lifetime of the asset. Identifying opportunities to minimise the impact of the cost on energy consumers is a key workstream of this project. GNI is now progressing the project through the relevant planning and regulatory structures.
Given the risk we seek to address, all options to accelerate delivery of the project are being pursued. The final cost to deliver the strategic gas emergency reserve and cost recovery model are being assessed as we progress the project through the detailed design phase, and every effort will be made to minimise the cost to consumers. The final investment decision will be subject to Government approval and will be supported by independent assessments undertaken by the financial and commercial advisory authority, NewERA, as well as the Commission for Regulation of Utilities.
It is interesting that the Minister mentioned the independent surveys and the recovery model because as he knows, Irish households are crippled by the most expensive electricity prices in Europe. Average electricity costs here are almost €1,800 per year, €350 more than the European average. The Government parties all promised they would introduce measures to help with the cost-of-living crisis when they were campaigning last November. Despite this, energy prices are 61% higher than they were in 2022. The Government has ruled out energy credits this year, saying they cannot become the norm. People are struggling, yet as part of the energy security review, the Government has suggested another levy, which would push up bills even further.
When the Minister says temporary, what timeframe does he have in mind? The last time we were here, the Minister said he would publish the CEPA and GNI reports. Will he publish them? Will the Minister categorically rule out any new levy on household bills? I ask him to do so. Will he ensure that the PSO levy network charges are distributed more fairly?
That report will be published this week. If anyone wants a briefing on it with officials, it will be available to colleagues. It is important that people understand the risks we are trying to mitigate.
I restate that the programme for Government acknowledges the growing energy price and cost pressures on households and businesses and commits to bringing forward measures to contain these costs. The Government recently approved an extension of the 9% VAT rate currently applied to gas and electricity by a further six months to October 2025. That will cost an estimated €85 million and it will be looked at again in the context of the budget.
My Department has established a cross-government energy affordability task force to identify, assess and implement measures that will enhance energy affordability for households and businesses. It is crucial that we do that. The focus of the task force will be on medium- and long-term structural reform measures to address high energy costs in line with the EU action plan for affordable energy.
There is an awful lot the Minister can do to bring down household electricity prices. The additional costs on household bills make up around 50% of the final electricity price to consumers. The programme for Government omitted any mention of network charges. It gave a vague commitment to explore funding models for the PSO to reduce bills. Is the Minister going to do that? He can tackle the regressive PSO levy on network charges now because network charges could be four times what they are now following the conclusion of price review 6. This burden could and should be distributed fairly, rather than ordinary householders being forced to bear the brunt. Grid upgrade and repair could also be financed through Exchequer funding rather than levying it on top of household bills. We also need to look at the role of the regulator, which needs to be strengthened. Is the Minister going to make these charges? Will he distribute network charges and the PSO levy to reduce the energy burden on households, if he is not going to introduce the other measures?
Everyone agrees that we need substantial further investment in our grid, and price review 6 will bring that forward later this year. As part of the NDP, we are looking at other ways by which we can fund investment in our grid, which is critical to ensure we can realise the potential of more onshore and offshore renewables.
Later this week, the Deputy will see a decision on the PSO, which I think will be welcomed by many. I will not pre-empt that decision but the word I have on it so far indicates it will result in a reduction in the PSO for the year to come.
Ireland's energy network is different from many others. The fundamental issue is how energy prices are struck at EU level and the link to wholesale gas prices. I intend to raise that with EU colleagues at the Energy Council next week. We need a bigger and broader discussion on that as countries like Ireland expand their renewable resource. Last year, 40% of our energy was generated through renewable resources. There are many things we can do and we will work towards them.
There will be plenty more announcements this week.
Electricity Grid
100. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment if he is satisfied with the current resilience of the ESB network in light of the damage caused by Storm Éowyn; the measures that have been taken in the five months since that storm to identify and develop dedicated corridors or pathways to protect electricity infrastructure; if he will provide an update on the measures taken, particularly as winter approaches in some months; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30718/25]
I ask the Minister about Storm Éowyn and the preparations that I hope are under way to make the grid more resilient. I am sure the Minister is well aware of the difficulties, as is the Minister of State, Deputy Dillon, in my constituency, which experienced huge fallout from the storm. Many houses have only recovered connectivity and landline communications in recent weeks. What steps are being taken to address and improve the resiliency of the network?
I thank the Deputy for his timely question. He will know and acknowledge that Storm Éowyn was one of the most severe weather events to impact Ireland in recent decades. At its peak, as we are all acutely aware, including the Minister of State, Deputy Dillon, and I who were dealing with it at the time - 768,000 customers were without electricity. Despite these challenges, ESB Networks restored power to most impacted customers within 72 hours. The Deputy is right, however, that many others waited for three weeks.
I commend all of our teams across the country who worked extremely hard to reconnect power and communications.
We must continue to strengthen the capacity of the electricity grid to withstand further extreme weather events, and a range of targeted measures are now being advanced to do just that.
Following the storm, I brought forward a memo to Government on 5 February requiring the development of an ESB Networks winter 2025 grid resilience plan. This plan was approved by the Government on 8 April and set out the actions across key areas, including hazard removal and surveying, forestry management, materials and spares review, resourcing and innovation measures that will increase resilience of the electricity network for the winter ahead.
Progress has been significant. Defect and hazard clearance is actively under way with additional timber contractors to be mobilised to tackle large vegetation clearance, ESBN continues to target and prioritise the inspection of the network in the worst affected areas, a lot of them in the north west, through the use of helicopter, drone and foot surveys. At the most recent energy security group meeting, ESBN presented a status update. As of 4 June, while the national programme of network inspection continues, the status of the survey regarding the prioritised portion of the network since Storm Éowyn is as follows: approximately 70% of the transmission network, or 4,994 km of 7,000 km and 98% or the 38 cabling network or 5,565 km of 5,600 km have been surveyed. I will give more information during the supplementary response.
This Government, in fairness, is great at documents and plans but very poor on delivery. The Minister spent most of his time acknowledging the work of the ESB, which has done tremendous work, but I want to know how many meters have been cleared. For example, there are thousands of kilometres of ESB lines where trees are growing up through those lines. There are guidelines that state the lines should be 10 m minimum away from the felling line of the tree. That is not being met, and my understanding from speaking to the ESB is that these are guidelines and there is no obligation regarding them. I want to know, how many meters have been reduced? Where are we now? We are six months away from Christmas. Last week, Hollymount, Taugheen and Foxford in County Mayo lost power because of a relatively small summer breeze and we need to ensure this is tackled.
For the Deputy's information, there needs to be more than 10 m each side of a tree in most areas.
Clearance.
Actually, in some instances 30 m either side are required.
It is depending on the tree.
It is obviously depending on the tree but I am telling the Deputy we have to work on this in a very structured way. Surveys are critically important. The whole network had never been surveyed as it has been done now. While I was in the process of telling the Deputy about the extensive survey work that is being done, a lot of clearances have happened already post storm, and the Deputy will know that from his own constituency. Three years' worth of timber was affected during the course of the storm that needed to be cleared, either having been felled by the storm or needing to be attended to. What we are doing now is, the survey work is nearly completed. This is exactly what we said we would do, by the way, as well as that we would get the winter resilience plan in place and we would have more spare capacity. That programme of additional works will be undertaken in advance of the winter. All of those corridors will not be cleared by the winter. If you look at the forested areas across the country, it is just not possible to do that so we are focusing on the worst affected areas and those most at risk.
With respect, it is six months after the storm and we are still at survey stage.
No.
In many cases what we need is action. I recently had contact from a family who experienced a power outage. They live at the end of a forest. They are living in fear of the next storm. They know that should a storm hit, they will certainly experience a power outage. This is the type of work we need to get down to business on. I appreciate the survey is being undertaken but we are now in the summer and in many cases the best time to achieve this work in terms of ground conditions is now. My fear is that there will be further delays and further inertia. We will get to the autumn and ground conditions will be so poor and maybe in the winter we will realise we are not as prepared as we should be.
I assure the Deputy that all of us want the same thing here. I have answered Deputy Daly's question about the importance of continued and enhanced investment in our grid, in that resilience aspect and in our distribution network in particular. Our generation network was not affected as much as the distribution network because the grid in those areas was resilient, but there is a significant amount of work to be undertaken. If the Deputy has specific details, such as about the family he mentioned - I am not sure exactly where they live - I am sure they will be within the plans that are there already for clearance work and a lot of clearance work has happened already. The Deputy will understand that, as we embark upon an accelerated programme of clearance, especially of vegetation, that has to be done in a very structured way based on surveys so we can tackle the areas most at risk first. That is what is being done. As much resources as are required to go into that, through ESB Networks and through private contractors, will be supported by the Government and finance will not be an issue in this regard.
Energy Usage
101. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment if he is aware of the latest emissions figures as reported by the Environmental Protection Agency; the steps he is taking to address this; the contingency measures he is putting in place; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30271/25]
102. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the reason, according to analysis from the Environmental Protection Agency, Ireland will only deliver a 23% reduction in emissions by 2030, not the 51% target in the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021, or the 42% target in the EU effort sharing regulation; how the State plans to finance the potential fines of up to €26 billion for missing EU targets; the actions he will take to remedy the situation and reduce our target emissions gap; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30748/25]
The Minister is probably aware of the latest emissions figures as reported by the Environmental Protection Agency last week. It is a stark warning. Ireland seems to have gone backwards in its climate ambition because the latest greenhouse gas emissions projections form the EPA said emissions would fall by up to 23% if every climate policy currently planned is implemented on time, down from the projection of 29% during the previous year. The gap is widening between what is achievable and what are legally binding emissions reductions.
This question is being taken with Question No. 102 so I call Deputy Ahern.
My question is the same. I am happy for the Minister to answer about how the gap is widening.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 101 and 102 together.
I thank both Deputies for the questions. The latest projections from the EPA are a clear signal that, while we have made progress, we need to move faster to meet our 2030 climate targets, and that is going to be incredibly challenging and incredibly difficult. The Government is building significant momentum and the EPA's analysis will help to guide that. In particular, the next phase of the work as we accelerate delivery to meet and exceed our ambitious climate targets. Our progress in recent years provides a strong foundation for this acceleration. In 2023, for example, Ireland achieved its most substantial single-year emissions reduction on record, falling by 6.8%. This is clear evidence that policies are delivering tangible results. We are successfully demonstrating that a thriving economy and climate can go hand in hand.
Since 1990, and it is important to look at where we have come from, our economy has grown dramatically and our population has increased by half. Over the period 1990 to 2005, emissions increased from 56 megatonnes to 70.2 megatonnes, but since the peak, Ireland has successfully reduced these emissions by 22% to 55 megatonnes, showing that, with a determined response, we can reverse these trends in the most challenging of circumstances.
We have always known that meeting the carbon budgets and delivering the economic and societal transformation will be challenging. All of us recognise that. However, the vast majority of people in this country back climate action and we are already dealing with the effects of climate change, so this Government's mandate and resolve around climate action is unwavering. It is important to remember that Government initiatives are working and Irish people, communities and businesses are making this change. We need to accelerate and build on that momentum.
It is important to recognise those efforts across Irish society. We achieved almost a 7% reduction in emissions in 2023. We are undergoing a renewables-led energy transformation. Peat is gone, coal is on the way out by the end of this month, and renewables are now the backbone of our power mix. Electricity generation from renewables has increased fivefold since 2005. A total of 40% of Ireland's electricity demand was met by renewable energy last year. This represents significant progress since 2005 when the comparable figure was 7% of our energy being generated by renewables compared with 40% last year.
By 2025, Ireland has 6.5 GW of grid scale renewable electricity generation capacity, which comprises 5 GW of wind and 1.5 GW of solar. This is 13 times the 0.5 GW of solar and wind electricity infrastructure that Ireland had in 2005. We are delivering new interconnectors. The Greenlink interconnector to Britain is now operational. That doubles Ireland's interconnector capacity. The Celtic interconnector to France is on track to be completed by 2026-27. The North-South project, which is crucial, is advancing, yet delayed. These projects boost energy security and allow greater import and export of clean power. Private wires policy, which I will introduce, is designed to unlock private investment in electricity infrastructure by allowing generators to connect directly with users. This will mean quicker connections, more clean power on the ground and less strain on our national grid. The switch to electric vehicles, EVs, is accelerating. While we did not hit our target last year and it is unlikely that the target of more than 900,000 vehicles by 2030 will be hit, we will still have a significant increase. In April, there was a 23% increase in EV registrations compared to the same time last year.
The thrust of the question is why the slowdown and what measures exactly is the Minister taking to accelerate or redress the apparent slowdown, according to the statistics from the EPA. On the ramifications, we all know about the ecological collapse and energy independence. We know that there is a need for clean energy and to reduce the bills of consumers but the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council and the Climate Change Advisory Council have said that it could cost us up €26 billion in effective fines from the European Union. The 23% figure is based on additional measures that have yet to be identified. With the Government's plan, the best we can hope for is a reduction of 9%. What exactly are those additional measures? What are the unallocated savings? What we need from the Minister are urgent measures such as the publication of the land use review, the onshore wind energy guidelines and the marine protected areas legislation. Where are those?
The Minister referred to moving faster and we agree with him. He mentioned 1990, 1995 and 2005 figures, but these are irrelevant. The only figures that we are concerned with in this House anymore are the 2018 base levels. We need a 51% reduction from them by 2030. We are miles away from it and we are getting further. Is the Minister worried about the gap between promise and delivery? Can he tell us once and for all whether he has given up on the 51% reduction target by 2030? His own climate action plan for this year if implemented in full, which is vanishingly unlikely, will only bring us to reductions of 42% by 2030. What is he going to do? What radical steps is he going to take to increase the speed of delivery as he has pointed to here?
Unquestionably, there are major challenges with meeting the 2030 targets. Anybody can see that from the EPA projections and previous projections. It is not hopeless though, not in any way, shape or form. I mentioned specifically energy generation because that is going to be the key and cornerstone to a reduction in dependence on fossil in particular and reducing carbon emissions while securing our energy future. The reason I have gone back to 2005 is to show that these things are possible because if we look at where we were on renewables in 2005, 7% of our energy was generated through them. It is now 40%. If I use 2018 as an example, 0.6% of energy was generated through solar. Now on a good day, it is 14%. There are improvements. There are challenges in some sectors, certainly in transport. I have referenced the fact that since 1990, our GDP has grown six times. Our population has increased by 50%. They are the realities that we are dealing with. That is a good thing. We also need to ensure that we continue to transition our fleet, particularly in public transport, and to invest in that. Last year, there were record numbers of public transport users. There were a total of 330 billion public transport user journeys right the way through the year and we can do more. It is a combination of that.
On the land use review that the Deputy asked about, I am meeting Geraldine Tallon this week again. I expect that the review will be published in the coming weeks. It will be an important guide there as well. There remains issues on unallocated savings. It is about increasing the pace of change and increasing delivery. The State has not done well on offshore renewables but we have created the architecture and infrastructure to do that. Five projects off the east coast are into the further information stage in planning. A decision is to be made by An Bord Pleanála. I hope that it is responded to expeditiously. We have a major opportunity with regard to offshore renewables. We will hit aspects within our targets. The overall target is still going to be extremely challenging. It will be very difficult as outlined by the EPA, but that should ensure that we redouble our efforts to do everything we can to tackle climate change and to transition to a greener cleaner economy.
The Minister hinted at electric vehicles. The EPA report emphasised not only that the plan is not working but also its unfairness. It is not being done in an inclusive way. Many people are locked out of the Government's schemes. As the Minister mentioned, we need to have hundreds of thousands more EVs to keep within the carbon budget but the grant scheme that the Government has does very little to help ordinary workers and families who cannot afford the huge price. According to the latest research, the Government scheme does not adequately support lower income households, impedes EV take-up and jeopardises the achievement of emission targets. That is reflected in the uptake where it is concentrated mostly in wealthy areas of Dublin and Cork, but working-class and rural areas are left behind. If someone can already afford a car that costs €45,000, a grant of €3,500 is not really going to cut the mustard. Will the Minister introduce tiered grants to encourage more people to access EVs?
Not only is the Government failing in this regard, it is also regrettably going backwards. Only last year, it was predicted that the State could reach 29% emission reductions. This year, it was reduced to 23% by the EPA. Our target for 2030 is that 80% of our energy will be renewable. The EPA is telling us that now only approximately 68% will be able to be renewable by 2030. When it comes to transport, the Minister referenced the number of EVs on the roads. The EPA is not even bothering with the previous goal of almost 1 million cars on the road; it is now talking about approximately 650,000 EVs on the road by 2030 at best. It feels that the Minister is pursuing policies that are pushing us further and further away from reaching our climate goals through the Government's pursuit of road over rail and obsession with energy hungry data centres. There is change in policy on fracked gas and the green light was given for liquefied natural gas, LNG, terminals and increased fire powered generation. I call on the Minister again to change course.
Let us look at the facts. We all agree that the targets were always going to be challenging but we are still focused on doing our level best to achieve them. Certain sectors have done significantly well. If we look at energy industries, there is a 21.6% reduction in emissions while it is 4.6% in agriculture, 7% in residential and 5.8% in industry. Transport emissions did increase marginally by 0.3% but emissions are now 4.3% below 2019 pre-Covid levels. We are seeing things going in the right direction but not fast enough. There are things that we can do. If we look at renewable energy, there is the 80% target to 2030. That is a significant target, even the EPA projection is that we will be at 68% of our energy. Let us be frank about it: the offshore projects have been delayed, probably by another 18 months, because of decisions that have been made by An Bord Pleanála. An Bord Pleanála is there to make those decisions. I am not criticising it. That is just a reality. We cannot ignore that. There is still a commitment to deliver those projects. We have got to see the offshore renewable electricity support scheme, ORESS, 1 projects delivered and in construction. We will have another auction relating to onshore energy, both wind and solar, later this year that there is significant interest in. We are a leader in Europe in onshore renewables. The same will happen with offshore renewables. It is unlikely that all those east coast wind farms will on the grid in 2030 but they should be under construction but if it is in 2031 or 2032 that they are on that will still be a good thing. If 68% to 72% of our energy is being created by renewables even by 2030, that will be significant progress. That will not hit our target but that will be going significantly in the right direction.
Data Centres
103. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment if he is aware of recent concerns expressed by officials in his Department that policy choices would need to be made between data centre expansion for AI and housing delivery; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30272/25]
Regarding officials in his Department expressing concerns that policy choices will have to be made between data centre expansion for AI and housing delivery and the priorities relating to same, will the Minister make a statement?
The programme for Government outlines the policy position regarding energy policy, housing policy, foreign direct investment growth and the many other goals and objectives of this Government. It reflects the balance between the many opportunities and challenges facing the country and the actions that will be taken over the lifetime of this Government. It recognises that increased and unprecedented investment and delivery in our grid and expanding our energy generation capacity is critical. While in the near term, already-contracted data centres will be accommodated on the grid for the medium term, the Government has committed to developing a plan that will guide the development of plan-led data centre and larger energy user infrastructure in alignment with our decarbonisation objectives and growing Ireland's knowledge-based economy and that will provide certainty for the sector over the medium term.
Moreover, the electricity system operators, namely EirGrid and ESB Networks, assess the various expected future demands on the system, including in the context of economic and population growth, housing and targets relating to electric vehicles and heat pumps, as part of their network development plans. These plans will form a vital input into system operators' submission to the price review process, which sets out the level of investment required over the next five years. That is price review, PR, 6, which we have already discussed here. The CRU is currently reviewing the proposals from ESB Networks and EirGrid in terms of their investment requirements. The submissions made to the CRU propose a significant uplift to the investment required in terms of distribution and transmission to support the requirements of a growing population and economy. The exact level of this will be part of the CRU's final determination later this year. The programme for Government seeks to address the challenges of balancing energy needs by committing to scaling up investment in critical infrastructure and our electricity grid, which will be advantageous for customers and enhance the data centre and digital economy footprint to support continued foreign direct investment, FDI.
Anybody who was in the House for any period earlier today will realise the priority and urgency afforded to the housing crisis. There are 15,580 people homeless. Then there is the rest, which Minister would have heard about, such as the average cost of rent being above €2,000. There is a housing emergency but instead of prioritising homes, this Government and those that preceded it have been reckless when it comes data centres. Instead of an approach that balances the energy demand from centres alongside that of other users, there is an absence of a plan. This Government is allowing the limited space on our grid to be gobbled up by data centres. The Minister's officials, including the Secretary General of the Department, have stated that policy choices need to be made between further data centre expansion and increasing housing supply. Why has the Government been blasé about these warnings? The reality is that successive Governments have failed to plan. The reason we cannot connect homes and data centres is straightforward; there is not enough capacity on the grid. What measures is the Minister taking to ensure that data centres do not gobble up all the new capacity? Will he review and reform the first-come first-served policy and mandate the CRU, which has commented on this issue, to prioritise new connections?
I am sure the Deputy and his party have interacted in respect of the CRU's draft statement on large energy users. There is a strategy being brought forward that is plan led rather than developer led, and that is critically important. There is no question that the number one priority for this Government is housing and continuing to increase of housing delivery. We also have to invest in our grid. It is housing, the grid and water. Three critical things we need to do over the next five years is improve our infrastructure in order to support housing delivery and FDI development. We also need to ensure that we continue to be at the cutting edge of new technologies. There is a view among some people that all data centres are bad and are not required at all in this country. Some of the largest employers and FDI investors in this country also hold their data here. It is not a question of one or the other. Unquestionably, our priority is housing. The Deputy will see from PR6 later this year the level of investment that will be in our grid for the next five years. It will be multiples of PR5, and the national development plan will further support increased investment in housing and our grid.
Does the Minister have a view on what the CRU said about mandating data centres to have a supply of electricity for themselves? Access to public infrastructure and our natural resources has been prioritised for data centres. However, the energy regulator in the Netherlands has the power to prioritise projects that identify social goals which can be prioritised for connection to the energy grid. That does not seem to be the case here. Does the Minister have an opinion on that? He must examine these measures and their applicability here. Ordinary workers and farmers cannot continue to shoulder a disproportionate burden by paying for the grid through network charges - we spoke earlier about the unfairness of how these are distributed - when data centres are being given the green light to gobble up all the new capacity that has become available in recent years. In other jurisdictions, these centres pay a larger amount towards essential infrastructure. The exact same should happen here. If the Government is serious about prioritising the construction of new housing, it must follow this path.
In the context of PR6 and the previous review, it is not a question that it is data centres first at all. PR6 takes into account Government targets and includes the connection of up to 50,000 new homes per year, up to 1 million electric vehicles and currently contracted data centre demand, which means currently contracted data centres - no new ones - and those with contracted connection agreements. There is no question of data centres or other large users gobbling up, as the Deputy says, energy instead of housing being built. That is not happening, and that will not happen under PR 6. When the CRU published the draft plan on large energy users, there was significant stakeholder engagement. The strategy into the future will be very much a plan-led approach to connection and a medium-term outlook. The focus must be and is on housing, but in parallel with that is grid investment. We will see grid investment over the course of the term of this Government like we have never seen before in order to allow us to distribute the additional energy we are creating through renewables right across our network in order that we can power more homes and more businesses throughout the country.
Climate Change Policy
104. Deputy James Geoghegan asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment his views on the recently published national climate change risk assessment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30710/25]
What are the Minister's views on the recently published national climate change risk assessment as published by the EPA?
I thank the Deputy for his question. I welcome the publication of Ireland's first national climate change risk assessment. We can already see the effects of climate change through the impact of storms including Babet, Darragh and, most recently, Éowyn. Attribution studies inform us that climate change is adding significantly to the strength of these extreme weather events. Adapting to the new reality and building resilience to the impact of climate change is critical. The Government is committed to protecting Ireland’s present and future generations by developing climate adaptation measures to manage the impact of extreme weather events. We recognise the need to support communities, businesses and ecosystems as climate risks continue to rise.
Last year, the Government approved Ireland’s second national adaptation framework. The national climate change risk assessment is a key deliverable under this framework. The risk assessment is a significant piece of work that will support our understanding of the risks of climate change and will help the Government to prioritise actions and direct resources to counter the risks that we must deal with most urgently into the future.
My Department is leading on the national co-ordination of sectoral adaptation actions to ensure cross-cutting issues are identified and addressed. Across Government, 15 sectoral adaptation plans, SAPs, will be completed this year. These will set out the extensive adaptation actions and measures that will be actioned over the next few years and that the sectors will build into their long-terms plans. The risk assessment provides the necessary evidence base to inform and support this work.
I read the EPA report. It is a little unexciting - that may be the way to put it.
There are four really good priority risks identified well in the report. These include the risk of disruption and damage to energy transmission and distribution infrastructure due to extreme wind, which is exactly what happened during Storm Éowyn. There is a similar risk to communications, which is also what happened with Storm Éowyn. To be fair, the ESB was a lot faster than the telecommunications providers in their response and that is something that must be looked at. There is also risk of disruption, damage and loss of transport infrastructure due to sea level rises and coastal flooding, as well as risk of damage and loss of buildings due to sea level rise, coastal erosion and coastal flooding. The latter is a problem in Dublin. Clontarf, in my own area, has been exposed for a long time. There are efforts afoot, and have been for a long time, to put a defence in place there.
The report signposts some very good priority actions. What is the mechanism by which they will be implemented? The Minister of State mentioned the new adaptation framework which is welcome. What is the mechanism by which they are turned into action and what is the budgeting process involved? There will be a fair bit of capital required for these projects.
Again, I thank the Deputy for his question on concerns that have been raised in relation to the publication of the risk assessment, which is both comprehensive and evidence based framework that identifies, ranks and prioritises the climate risks, as the Deputy has outlined. What is essential here is that it draws on international best practices from the UK, New Zealand and the EU. It highlights the complex risks, including those we saw during Storm Éowyn, which impact across the energy system and forestry. Through the framework and the 13 different adaptation plans that will be finalised this year, we will have plans that can deliver real world actions while also putting strategies in place to protect communities, infrastructure and the economy. They will be led out through various Departments and through local authority-led actions.
Just for my own information, how does it work in terms of capital funding? Does that come through the NDP? If the Minister of State does not have the answer now, perhaps he could come back to me later. I am interested in understanding how that funding channel works.
I thank the Deputy for his question and I can certainly respond later in relation to that. The focus now is on delivering the 15 sectoral adaptation plans. That is really important. As I said earlier, we need to take significant steps to future proof Ireland's key infrastructure around electricity and gas. We will put these plans out for consultation. That is really important. What we want to do is ensure that we plan ahead, invest wisely and protect our key infrastructure to ensure future adaptation measures are introduced as we deal with future serious and extreme weather events.