Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 21 January 2026
211. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine whether his Department has conducted any value-for-money analysis comparing the cost of increasing solar PV approvals under TAMS 3, with the potential cost of EU non-compliance fines for missed climate targets; and if not, whether such an analysis will now be undertaken; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4660/26]
View answer219. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if his Department has conducted any assessment of the climate-mitigation impact of rejecting approximately 75% of farmers applying for solar PV support; if not, to explain how the current approval policy aligns with Ireland’s legally binding 2030 emissions-reduction targets and the risk of EU non-compliance penalties; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4652/26]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 211 and 219 together.
Ireland has carbon emission reduction targets under two separate frameworks, at domestic and EU levels.
On the domestic level, the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015 (as amended) (the Act) establishes Ireland’s statutory targets of achieving a 51% reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030, and becoming climate neutral by 2050. While the State is legally obliged to achieve these targets, there is no direct monetary penalty for failing to do so. Section 6D of the Act requires that any surplus or exceedance from a preceding budget period is carried forward to the following period.
Under European Climate Law, Member States have committed to reduce net GHG emissions by at least 55% by 2030, compared to 1990 levels.
Member States' national GHG emissions reduction targets out to 2030 are set by Effort Sharing Regulations (ESR). This covers those sectors of the economy that fall outside the scope of the EU Emissions Trading System, including transport, buildings, agriculture, light industry and waste. Ireland’s target under the ESR is to reduce our GHG emissions by at least 42% by 2030, relative to 2005 levels.
The ESR governance framework does not provide for the imposition of direct fines. However, partially purchasing compliance (including the purchase of allowances from other Member States who have over-performed on their targets) could have significant costs.
To assist in achieving the statutory target of a 51% GHG emissions reduction, the Solar Capital Investment Scheme (SCIS) was included as part of the Targeted Agriculture Modernisation Scheme (TAMS 3).
The number of applications and the level of funding provided to date under certain schemes, such as the Solar Capital Investment Scheme (SCIS), have well exceeded expectations, to the extent that more than 20% of the total TAMS budget is being spent on the SCIS alone.
On that basis, from a value-for-money perspective and taking into consideration the environmental importance of nutrient storage, I decided, in the context of approving applications received in Tranche 9 of TAMS, to focus on approvals for core on-farm investments such as nutrient storage and farm safety, acknowledging the huge importance of continued investment in these measures
