I thank the Deputy for her question. In July, the Government approved a €3.5 billion investment in Ireland's electricity infrastructure across 2026 to 2030 as part of the revised national development plan. This represents the largest single investment in the country's electricity network in its history. Some €1.5 billion was transferred this week from ESB Networks to support investment in the onshore electricity grid. The Electricity (Supply) (Amendment) Bill, which was enacted in November, provides the mechanism for making the investment in ESB. As part of the oversight measures in place, the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, will receive quarterly monitoring reports as to the expenditure of the investment and progress on delivery of the overall price review, PR, 6 investment programme. A further €2 billion will also be allocated to EirGrid over the next five years to support the financing of its offshore electricity grid investment plan. The mechanism for making this payment will be agreed and legislated for separately next year. The Commission for Regulation of Utilities, CRU, also published its final determination on price review 6 this week, which paves the way for a historic investment of over €18.9 billion in Ireland's energy infrastructure. This represents approximately two and a half times the spend under the previous price review period, PR 5. The equity investment in both ESB Networks and EirGrid will support the financing of this unprecedented investment over the next five years. The Government equity investment will also support the integration of renewables and help to reinforce vital energy infrastructure across the effects of extreme weather events, thus enhancing the country's energy security. Extending and reinforcing the grid will ensure that every home and business has a reliable and secure source of electricity, including the 300,000 new homes the Government has committed to build by 2030.
Sentiment score: 0.38
I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter. My dual roles as Minister of State in the Departments of enterprise and climate and energy are very much aligned in the context of policy. From an enterprise perspective, we have the policy of propelling prosperity. Within that is the provision of unprecedented investment through ESB Networks and Eirgrid. This will provide over 500 projects under price review 6, more than 181 km of new overhead lines, 319 km of underground cables, nearly 70 substations and the replacement of over 50,000 poles. As the Deputy stated, it will be the accelerant for us to deliver with regard to new homes, supporting enterprise and industry, reducing our curtailment and strengthening the security supply. We all know - even in Louth - that there is major industry which requires a strong energy supply. The private wires legislation we will be enacting next year will be an important benefit for many of these sectors.
Sentiment score: 0.36
I could not agree more. This certainly is the most ambitious energy infrastructure programme we have seen in decades. It is akin to the rural electrification scheme. It will certainly put Ireland in a strong position in terms of our competitiveness. It is also required because industry leaders are looking for certainty and security of supply. We also need to build resilience into our network. I am delighted to see that the private wires Bill has been approved for drafting this week. That will unlock much needed private investment and speed up the clean power connections. A lot of work is being done by the Departments of enterprise and Climate, Energy and the Environment. A core element of that work is to ensure that we have connections for the 50,000 new homes that we will be building every year up to 2030 because we know how important good connections are for many areas right across the country to try to boost that supply.
Sentiment score: 0.40
I thank the Deputy for his question and interest in this area. As matters stand, there are no official statistics confirming the number of rPET pellets produced or utilised in the State or the amount exported from the State. While statistics for the recycling of plastic packaging waste are reported to Eurostat by the EPA on an annual basis, the EU’s list of waste codes does not isolate individual polymers and, therefore, it is not possible to establish how much of this PET material is in existence. This is a shortcoming in the system and Department officials have engaged with the European Commission in relation to expanding the list of waste codes to provide greater granularity for plastic polymers. Ireland does not have some facilities which convert PET waste into rPET flakes or pellets, but we do not currently have a facility producing pellets of a food-grade quality. Due to strict EU food safety standards, rPET to be used in food or drink packaging must meet the highest recycling standard to be of food grade. Prior to the introduction of the deposit return scheme, PET plastic waste collected through our waste collection system was mostly recycled abroad. Since the introduction of Re-Turn, the deposit return scheme, DRS, operator can confirm that in 2024, it collected a total of 12,057 tonnes of PET plastics, which were sold on the open market. A total of 4,037 tonnes of material, which equates to 34%, was bought by companies in Ireland. For the first time, a separate and high-quality stream of PET is now available for recycling. Together with the requirement under the single use plastics directive to incorporate 25% of recycled plastic into PET beverage bottles from 2025, rising to 30% from 2030, the opportunity to invest in Ireland's circular economy has been boosted significantly.
Sentiment score: 0.03
I reassure the Deputy that Re-Turn has collected over 12,000 tonnes of this PET plastic, 34% of which, as I said earlier, is purchased by Irish companies. Separately, we have Repak, which funds the recycling of over 8,300 tonnes of plastic, 42% of which is reprocessed in Ireland. Is it enough? We need to do more and that is widely acknowledged. Certainly, with the introduction of the DRS, we have made a significant step forward with regard to fully recognising the stream of product that we have as a result of having a dedicated collection system for PET recycling. We also recognise that we need to continue to invest in recycling infrastructure. That must grow and that is why, through the extended producer responsibility, EPR, schemes, Re-Turn and Repak are now investing in their domestic capacity. We are engaging with Re-Turn with regard to a bottle-to-bottle PET plant. Certainly, we want to have more domestic capacity for recycling.
Sentiment score: 0.20
To be clear, the plastic that is recycled is traded on the open market by Re-Turn. The State is constrained in intervening by EU state aid rules. That is why we comply through the EU waste framework, ensuring there is a regulatory environment to support Irish recyclers. All operators in Ireland can play a role in that . It is a complex challenge and we want to continue to provide support. With the supply chain we now have through PET plastic, we can continue to work with the industry on how we can support companies here and reduce our reliance on the export market. This is why Re-Turn is actively planning a multimillion euro facility to bring bottle-to-bottle PET recycling to Ireland. That would be a game-changer for many reasons would present a real circular economy initiative, to the Deputy's point, avoiding the exposure to the export market.
Sentiment score: 0.22
I thank the Deputy for the question and for his interest in this important area. The warmer homes scheme aims to improve the energy efficiency and warmth of homes owned by people at risk of energy poverty by providing fully-funded retrofits. The scheme is operated through the SEAI on behalf of the Department and is funded through the carbon tax receipts and the European Regional Development Fund. The scheme seeks to reduce the volume of energy a household needs by reducing heat loss through the installation of insulation and ventilation in the first instance, before moving to replacing heating systems where required under building regulations. This is in line with the fabric first and energy efficiency first principle and best practice. There are a number of home energy improvements offered as part of the scheme. The upgrades recommended for a particular property depend on many factors including age, size, type and the condition of the property. For each eligible home, the SEAI’s technical surveyor determines which upgrades can be installed and funded. The SEAI is currently piloting the installation of renewable technologies, including heat pumps, where major renovations are taking place under the scheme. These pilots are helping to assess the suitability of such technologies in the context of energy poverty and long-term value for money. The scope of upgrades under the scheme is kept under ongoing review and my Department continues to work closely with the SEAI to ensure we maximise the impact of resources available. The Government remains committed to ensuring that low-income households benefit from Ireland's renewable energy transition and we will continue to work with Deputies to explore how best to integrate other technologies into our energy poverty programmes.
Sentiment score: 0.39
I completely agree. The first principle of the SEAI warmer homes retrofit scheme is all about reducing bills, improving comfort for householders and ensuring that the vulnerable are part of and very much protected within Ireland's renewable energy transition. We have made significant progress on budgets. We increased the latest budget to record levels with over €230 million now under the warmer homes scheme. That has delivered 7,743 free upgrades. If we look at where we have come from, the average cost per household back in 2015 was €2,600 but it is over €29,000 today because we are tackling the worst performing homes first. To the Deputy's point, we are piloting the schemes in the ongoing review. More exploration is needed on how we integrate alternative technology for older homes to ensure those are protected.
Sentiment score: 0.36
I appreciate the points raised by the Deputy and I will take them back to the Minister and the SEAI. The replacement of oil and gas boilers has been a challenge in that EU laws prohibit us to incentivise fossil fuel boilers from 2025. New boilers cannot be installed or supported through grant schemes. Replacement parts can be supported through local authorities for sure but the scheme itself is constricted on the basis of the fabric first principle, which relates to insulation, ventilation and then more complex technology. We will take the points back that the Deputy has raised today and try to fine tune them to meet the concerns of his constituents and the wider public.
Sentiment score: 0.32
The Government has taken steps with immediate and medium-term impact to improve the resilience of critical energy networks. In February 2025, the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, asked ESB Networks to prepare a winter resilience plan to enhance the grid in the most vulnerable locations following Storm Éowyn. That plan was updated in October. Core work undertaken includes remedial work to the network; work with Coillte and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine to identify segments of the network that are at the highest future risk; replenishing emergency stock, spare parts and materials; increasing staffing levels and available contractor resources; and establishing formal mutual aid arrangements for extreme weather events. ESB Networks is also increasing the number of access officers who engage with landowners on forestry works. We are preparing legislation to enhance ESB Networks' powers to manage vegetation and the Government approved heads of a Bill in July. Work on advancing that legislation continues as a matter of priority. While those measures will have crucial short-term impacts, for the long term, significant investment in the electricity grid will support overall resilience. On Tuesday, 16 December 2025, the CRU published price review 6, PR6, which sanctions investment in the grid up to 2030. The CRU has proposed approval of an investment of up to €18.9 billion, with a €13.8 billion baseline investment guaranteed. Under the 2024 national adaptation framework, a new suite of sectoral adaptation plans across 13 key sectors, including electricity and gas networks, were recently approved and published by the Government. The national electricity and gas sectoral plans align with the aim of the critical entities resilience directive, to enhance the future resilience of the energy grid to the long-term impacts of climate change.
Sentiment score: 0.15
I thank the Deputy for raising her concerns on behalf of her constituents in Connemara. That is why we published PR6 this week, which is one of the largest investments in the history of the State. More than 500 capital projects will be delivered as part of the programme and, as I said earlier, we are placing resilience at the centre of this policy to ensure we can deal with energy emergencies and severe weather events. That is why we established the national emergency co-ordination group, chaired by the Department of housing and a co-ordinated with a national response. That certainly aligns with energy actions. As I said earlier, we have introduced a number of operational measures and we need to continue to work with ESB Networks and EirGrid to build resilience into our network. We also approved heads of a Bill in July for the ESB Networks' statutory corridor powers because we have had difficulties in the past accessing major works. That is certainly something we will prioritise into 2026.
Sentiment score: 0.17
We hear the Deputy loud and clear on this side of the House. I acknowledge the tremendous work of all the operators and workers within ESB Networks who have gone above and beyond. We saw that during Storm Éowyn when they reassured us that they were working day and night to get supply back to many households. That is why the Government has responded. We have allocated over €1.5 billion to ESB Networks. That was approved through the national development plan and legislated for last month. That will, in one sense, lower finance costs for ESB Networks. It will support the delivery at pace. We want to see that in west Galway, Mayo and all across the country. We want to ensure we have limited impact across the network when we have severe weather events. We will continue that investment over the next number of years. As I said earlier, unprecedented investment in our energy grid will support resilience and ensure we can get connections to those 300,000 homes we want delivered by 2030.
Sentiment score: 0.17
CBAM is an instrument implemented by the European Union to address the risk of carbon leakage. The EU's ambition is to become climate neutral by 2050. CBAM will aim to ensure that imported goods are subject to a carbon price equivalent to the carbon price of domestic production in the EU. CBAM affects the electricity sector by putting a price on emissions associated with electricity produced in countries outside the EU and imported into the EU. It aims to encourage sustainable practices and reduce carbon footprint. For electricity importers, compliance with CBAM initially involves reporting direct emissions associated with electricity production as an imported good from third countries on a quarterly basis, relying on supplier information. The simplification package that was published in February and adopted in October permits the European Commission to more accurately reflect the carbon price paid, including for imports from Britain, which Ireland welcomes. CBAM is currently evolving at a rapid pace. The week ending 12 December saw voting taking place on some of the implementing regulations and acts, and other votes are to follow in the days and weeks ahead. At this time, until the exact details are clear, any estimation regarding the cost of CBAM in relation to electricity imports is likely to be inaccurate. Overall, CBAM provides an opportunity for the electricity sector to embrace sustainability and contribute to environmental protection by positioning businesses as socially responsible and environmentally conscious players in the market.
Sentiment score: 0.24
They are two different topics but I will answer the first one.
Sentiment score: 0.00
Yes. I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle.
Sentiment score: 0.38
On the first question, it is not accurate at this time to talk about increased energy prices. CBAM is still in a transitional phase. We are working very closely with the European Commission on adopting a simplification package - this arose in October - to clarify how we will be reporting and how carbon prices will be aligned. Until the Act is implemented or finalised early next year, any cost estimates would be speculative and misleading. We have a number of engagements with the European Commission. It is working very closely with the UK on how we carry carbon costs and how they are aligned to the EU emissions trading system price. We are very much focused on encouraging cleaner generation globally. Deputy Brennan mentioned the excellent warmer homes scheme, which is supporting those who are finding it difficult to maintain rising energy bills. The scheme has one of the largest budgets into 2026, of over €230 million. It has been successful in that it has delivered over 7,700 grants to date. We are ramping up the number of contractors who can support the delivery of these warmer homes. We know how important it is to those who are waiting and who need these upgrades as quickly as possible.
Sentiment score: 0.29
With regard to the Government's commitment, in recent weeks we have seen huge announcements about investment in our electricity and energy system. It is unprecedented and akin to rural electrification. Over €18.6 billion is being invested to reinforce our grid through a number of capital projects. Over 500 capital projects will be delivered right across the country. We are very much focused on ensuring we can connect the over 300,000 new homes that we have committed to out to 2030, and on continuing to support enterprise and industry. We have heads of Bill for the private wires legislation coming before the House. That will go through committee and both Houses in 2026. It will certainly act as a catalyst for private investors to invest in electricity generation that can support many industries right across the country.
Sentiment score: 0.28