Relax.

Sentiment score: 0.44

Those warnings were calls for compliance. Check out the facts. They are the facts.

Sentiment score: -0.10

The Critical Infrastructure Bill is a central pillar of the Government’s Accelerating Infrastructure Report and Action Plan and represents a significant step forward in strengthening delivery across all key sectors, including energy, which I will turn to in a moment. Accelerated delivery of infrastructure does not disapply our climate commitments or our targets at national level, but recognises an urgent need for the completion of major infrastructure projects in the State. Many new infrastructure projects, including critical electricity infrastructure and public transport projects, are themselves absolutely essential to supporting climate, environment and other social and economic objectives. The Bill provides for the disapplication of section 15 of the amended Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015, which the Deputy referred to, in very limited circumstances for designated critical infrastructure. Climate impact will still be one of the influencing factors when decisions are made and will continue to be accounted for through decision-making processes, particularly through the planning system where climate impact is already woven into the policy hierarchy, as confirmed recently by the Supreme Court in the Coolglass case. I assure the Deputy that climate impact and considerations will remain absolutely central to the ambition of this Government, though they must be balanced against other critical factors like housing shortages and energy security particularly, and when it comes to these projects of national importance. I assure the Deputy that I will continue to work across government to ensure climate impacts of projects are well-evidenced and incorporated into proposals at the appropriate time.

Sentiment score: 0.35

If the Deputy takes our offshore wind projects that are in planning right now as an example, she will see that many of them are the subject of requests for further information. We have already had groups say to us that if and when they are granted, these projects will be subject to a judicial review, JR, and will be brought to the High Court or the Supreme Court. That is not acceptable either. We are talking here today, and rightly so, around energy security and the acceleration of renewables, which, thankfully, we are doing really well. If you even look at solar, just over ten years ago, we had 2 MW of solar in our grid; we have 2,400 MW now. It shows what can be done. That does not even include over 1,000 MW of rooftop solar. The Deputy and I know that there are critical projects that need to be delivered, particularly on the energy side. Energy is really where a lot of this is going. If we can reduce our dependence on fossil fuel, it is good for the climate, for the economy and for people. In some instances, we have very small groups or individuals who have been holding up these projects and have been weaponising a good climate Act and its purpose to slow and stall development. We cannot have that any more.

Sentiment score: 0.19

I do not think it does. I respect what the Deputy says but I disagree with it. Take the example of the floating gas reserve - the floating storage and regasification unit, FRSU - which we absolutely need. That is consistent with the climate Act in relation to the energy security of this country. That needs to happen. It will be debated in the Dáil and we will see whether it receives the support of the Dáil. It needs to happen. We are in no way setting aside the climate Act. What we are saying is, for critical infrastructure projects, what an acceptable length of time for objections to go on for is. I was the Minister responsible for planning in the last Government. I got rid of things like the fast-track planning system that went straight to what was An Bord Pleanála and brought it back to a two-stage planning process through the local authorities and the board. Decisions should be made by planning authorities, not by courts. That is my view and I have always said that very clearly. I fully respect and will defend the right of people to make observations, be they objections or observations in support of a project. What we cannot allow as a country is the continued use of methods by a very small number of people to delay critical infrastructure projects and the weaponisation of very good legislation, which is the climate Act.

Sentiment score: 0.15

Is the Deputy trying to get rid of me?

Sentiment score: 0.00

I propose to take Questions Nos. 94 and 151 together. We are committed to delivering on Ireland’s responsibility to address the climate crisis and work remains ongoing across Departments to carry out climate-mitigation efforts every day, as evidenced by the roll-out of retrofitting, renewable energy development and deployment, and more affordable electric vehicles. All that continues at pace and is progressing well. These ongoing efforts are supported by the Climate Action Plan 2025, in tandem with its predecessor, the 2024 plan, both of which remain in place and provide a strong framework for continued delivery of climate action across all sectors, given that many of the measures and actions in these plans are multi-annual in nature and effect. Work remains ongoing across Departments to deliver on these commitments and carry out climate-mitigation efforts every day, supported by recently enhanced governance and delivery arrangements. Progress is being made. Ireland now has the lowest level of greenhouse gas emissions in 35 years, which is notable given concurrent demographic and economic growth, including a population increase of approximately 1.5 million people, more than 1 million new homes and over 1 million extra vehicles on our roads. Those are extraordinary growth figures, which we have been able to underpin by reducing emissions. We are making very significant strides towards our target of 80% renewable energy by 2030. Last month significantly, nearly 50% of our electricity was delivered by renewables. We have reached a milestone of 8 GW of onshore renewable electricity generation. We have more than doubled our wind energy capacity in just ten years. I mentioned last month's record 50% of our renewable electricity generation. We are now also prioritising the development of our offshore wind capacity. We had another successful auction with Tonn Nua. Underpinning this is the investment of €18.9 billion in our electricity grid for the period from now to 2030, which is critical to the electrification of homes, businesses, transport and our society. On the Zero Emission Vehicles Ireland, ZEVI, front, we reached our target for electrical vehicle sales of 195,000 in October 2025, with sales now at 212,000. I have recently announced an unprecedented package of new and enhanced grants for homeowners, which I am glad to say have been really well received and we are seeing a significant uptake in grants by bringing forward the retrofitting passport committed to in the programme for Government. Work on the next climate action plan, CAP, 26, is under way. Following the extensive recommendations delivered by the Oireachtas joint committee on climate late last year, the Government is taking the necessary time to carefully finalise the carbon budget process. We will be doing that. I am of the view that the next climate action plan should reflect the outcome of that process. In that regard, my Department is working towards bringing a draft of the new climate action plan to the Government later this year. I also want to look at how we report on it. The ongoing transition to a climate-neutral economy has profound implications for our economy and society. In formulating the next plan, the Government must carefully consider a wide range of factors to ensure the approach is ambitious, feasible and sustainable. It is vital that our climate policies and emissions-reduction pathways deliver the best possible value for money while maximising the net benefits to society. We must protect the long-term competitiveness of the economy, maintain the State’s attractiveness for investment and maximise employment opportunities while ensuring a just transition that supports communities right across the country. That is central to it.

Sentiment score: 0.24

I fully accept the need to provide clarity on timeframes. I just want to explain what is happening on this. The last two climate action plans for 2024 and 2025 are still in place and the actions within them are still being worked through. I want to enable us to set climate priorities. The Deputy has previously asked me in the House about our climate targets. I have just said very clearly that while our projections and carbon emissions are going in the right direction, it does not look like we will hit our 2030 target. Having said that, we need to see how we can bridge that gap between the projected reduction and the target itself. That is why CAP 26 is so critical. I want us to look at the most impactful measures that we can make and to get off an administrative hamster wheel on this whereby one plan is being produced while the actions of the previous year's plan are still being worked through. I have had this discussion with the Climate Change Advisory Council, CCAC. I have met it in plenary. A new chair, Alex White, has been appointed to the CCAC. I meet the environmental pillar regularly, including just couple of weeks ago, and they understand that too. What are the most important measures we can take in CAP 26 to help us bridge the gap and continue the progress that has been made in many areas, no less so than on the energy generation piece? That is a genuine thing and I want people to understand what CAP 26 is and for it to be a readable document. Notwithstanding all the really good work across government on the publication of the plan, it is fair to say, as is acknowledged by the environment pillar as well, that what is really important is how many people actually know what is in the plan itself. I want to bring that down to a grassroots level. That is the level of work that we are doing. We are not looking to delay it at all. I intend to bring options on climate priorities to the Government in the coming weeks and that will flow into CAP 26. That is the timeframe. We are talking a matter of weeks for the climate priorities and following from that will be the climate action plan.

Sentiment score: 0.12

I will take a couple of examples of where the commitments are. I agree with the Deputy. The next plan has to question how we can look to bridge the gap. We need to recognise the progress that has been made by our people and by successive Governments in this regard. That is why, looking at our retrofit programme, we have made some very significant changes to the grants to make them more accessible. People are responding to that already, just short of two months since we made those changes. We can do a lot of things to improve our resilience, reduce our energy use and make our homes more climate friendly and healthier. We can also do the same for business. We are looking at a suite of business grant measures to reduce energy use in business. Again, I agree with the Deputy on this. The reliance or over-reliance in certain areas on fossil fuels and our dependency on imported fossil fuels are a risk and a weakness, and we need to move away from that. I will take two areas. I refer to grid investment and the €18.9 billion. PR6 is critical, and I know Deputy O'Gorman knows that. It is a matter of our taking more renewables into our grid. We are already the number one country in Europe in the integration of renewables into our grid, but it is a matter of our expanding that further and bringing more storage so that we can deploy and dispatch energy at the appropriate times. We have over a gigawatt in storage now. We can now trade in the electricity market, which is a good thing, too. We need to increase our storage and our renewable capacity. The projections in that regard to the end of the decade are good, while not hitting 80%. In the CAP 2026, for example, on energy, we will see how we can get to 80% without the offshore renewables because the offshore will not be electrified by 2030. The focus there is getting it into construction. On transport, €2 billion of the climate and nature fund, as the Deputy knows, has already been deployed to MetroLink, which would be one of the biggest decarbonising projects from a transport perspective. That is backed with money. I want the CAP 2026 to be a real plan that people understand. It has to be ambitious and has to be backed financially, and I intend that it will be.

Sentiment score: 0.20

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as a smaointí ar an ábhar an-tábhachtach seo.  Aontaím leis go bhfuil sé fíorthábhachtach agus go gcaithfimid athruithe breise a dhéanamh ar son fuinnimh in Éirinn agus fud fad na hEorpa go háirithe. I agree with the Deputy. We need to accelerate the changes we are bringing in given the existing crisis. Ireland has been to the forefront of many of the renewable energy generation initiatives. The past ten years have been good. Last year was particularly good but we need to accelerate this further. If ever there was a reason we need to continue to reduce our dependence on the importation of fossil fuels from other states, it is now. With the Middle East crisis, we do not want to lose sight of the fact - and it know it is not lost on the Deputy, in particular - that, while we are feeling it as an economic crisis and are feeling price shocks, we also have to be very mindful that it is a humanitarian crisis. Thousands of people have been killed in this war, following on from the brutality we saw with Israel's actions, its attack on Gaza and its continued attacks on the West Bank and the whole Middle East. It is a very uncertain situation right now. I attended a virtual meeting of EU energy Ministers on 31 March to discuss an EU-wide response to rising costs caused by the conflict in the Middle East. The European Commission is due to provide additional details on specific proposals. I do not mind saying that we expected to get them last week, so the EU needs to act as a bloc. We are bringing forward changes in Ireland. We have deployed resources of about €750 million. It is still really difficult for our people but the EU response needs to be immediate in terms of what can be done at an EU-wide level. I have fed into that and I will come back to it.

Sentiment score: -0.10

Aontaím leis an Teachta arís. Next week the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, and I are meeting the EU transport Ministers. We have already taken measures in respect of our supply chains. There has been no direction or unified approach by the European Union, which is regrettable. It is also regrettable that we are still waiting for the details of the toolbox - as it is now referred to - of what the European Union can do on behalf of its citizens. That needs to be done now and I will be reflecting that. On plug-in solar, I know the Deputy has another question. Solar has expanded greatly in Ireland. Already we have 2.4 GW of solar in our system, with over 1 GW of rooftop solar as well that is not grid connected. I am very open to plug-in solar. Some safety concerns were flagged at official level but Germany and other countries deploy it well. On foot of the question that was tabled in this regard, the team in the Department is looking at this. If we can deploy more solar, then we should.

Sentiment score: 0.03

I will keep the Deputy informed of the progress. We are trying to make it easier to deploy renewables. That is why the critical infrastructure legislation on bigger projects will be really important. There are things that households and communities can do. We have seen the growth, with 33,000 solar grant applications granted last year. We will accelerate that further this year, with about 73,000 retrofits. Plug-in solar is not an extremely new technology but there might have been some concerns with it. However, it is not being dismissed. I can assure the Deputy of that. We have a more detailed response on it in the written parliamentary question the Deputy has submitted. I will keep him directly informed on it. I made changes to the SEAI grants at the start of March in terms of making things more accessible for people to support. We have seen a really significant increase in applications for things like heat pumps, solar, wall cavity insulation and attic insulation as we have made it easier for people to do so. We also have to look at solar storage and battery storage in homes and at utilising our car batteries through EV and solar. I will come back to the Deputy.

Sentiment score: 0.22