Tuesday, 28 Apr 2026

Departmental Policies

Questions (294)

Emer Currie

Question:

294. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the main policy achievements of his Department since 22 January 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30472/26]

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Written answers

Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment

The attached table sets out the progress made on key Programme for Government (PfG) commitments under the remit of my Department which represent the key policy achievements of my Department.

The key PfG commitments are grouped, as appropriate, to the relevant goals from the Department’s Statement of Strategy, Le Chéile 28, which was published in September 2025.

The progress made by my Department in delivering on the Statement of Strategy, including the implementation of key Programme for Government commitments, is also captured in the Department's Annual Reports which are available on www.gov.ie.

Progress Update

Ministerial Communications

Questions (295, 296)

Ged Nash

Question:

295. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment if it is the current policy of his private office/Department to formally invite or notify all local Oireachtas members of constituency events at which Ministers are in attendance in the course of performing their ministerial duties and functions; if he will provide the Department's current policy or protocol on this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30592/26]

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Ged Nash

Question:

296. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment to provide a list of all events across every constituency attended by the Minister in the course of his ministerial duties since 1 January 2026, where formal invitations/notifications to attend were not issued by his office to all local Oireachtas members; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30610/26]

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Written answers

Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment (Deputy Darragh O'Brien)

I propose to take Question No 295 and Question No 296 together.

As Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment, I attend a wide range of official engagements across the State. Generally, where an event is organised by a third party, it is the responsibility of the event organiser to extend invitations to, or otherwise inform, local public representatives as they consider appropriate.

Where appropriate and where an event is organised by the Department, my officials would endeavour to notify public representatives of engagements within their constituencies, having regard to the nature of the event and the associated logistical arrangements.

Question No. 296 answered with Question No. 295.

Energy Policy

Questions (297, 298, 299, 300, 301)

Paul Murphy

Question:

297. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment when Ireland will transpose Article 12 of the Energy Efficiency Directive (2023/1791), regarding transparency reporting; if this will be achieved ahead of the third reporting deadline for data centre operators on 15 May 2026, given his prior statement recently that this was at an ‘advanced stage’; and if so, the date he expects to sign a Statutory Instrument on the matter. [30633/26]

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Paul Murphy

Question:

298. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment to confirm whether the transposition of Article 12 of the Energy Efficiency Directive (2023/1791) will include specific conditions for penalties in the event of non-compliance with reporting obligations, as required by Article 32 of the Directive, similar to the German transposition of same (EnEfG Section 19) given only 18 Irish data centres have submitted reports to date. [30634/26]

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Paul Murphy

Question:

299. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the public body which will be, whether it be the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, EirGrid, the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, his own Department or a new or other body entirely, be empowered to investigate and sanction a data centre operator that fails to submit accurate and timely information to the European database as per requirements under Article 32 of the Energy Efficiency Directive (2023/1791) to establish “effective, proportionate, and dissuasive” penalties for non-compliance with national transposing measures. [30635/26]

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Paul Murphy

Question:

300. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment whether his Department or any other delegated body currently has visibility of data being sent by Irish data centre operators to the European database, in accordance with their responsibilities under the Delegated Regulation (2024/1364); and if the lack of a related Statutory Instrument is impeding the Government’s ability to access and handle this information currently. [30636/26]

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Paul Murphy

Question:

301. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment to confirm reports that the European Commission has advised Member States to ‘keep confidential all information and key performance indicators for individual data centres’; and if he has sought legal advice on whether this interpretation of confidentiality violates the Aarhus Convention and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. [30637/26]

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Written answers

Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment

I propose to take Questions Nos. 297, 298, 299, 300 and 301 together.

Article 12 of the Energy Efficiency Directive 2023/1791 (‘EED’) provides for an obligation for Member States to require that owners and operators of certain sized data centres to make publicly available information on key metrics on their energy and sustainability performance. The Article specifically mandates an exception to this requirement where the information is subject to Union and national law protecting trade and business secrets and confidentiality.

As part of the implementation of Article 12 of the EED it is supplemented by the directly effective Commission Delegated Regulation 2024/1364 that requires the same in-scope data centre operators to make public and report annually key performance indicators to a confidential European database on data centres which has been established by the European Commission in accordance with Article 12 (3). Article 5 of the Delegated Regulation legally requires that the European Commission and all Member States shall keep confidential all information for individual data centres communicated to and in the database.

My Department is the Member State coordinator overseeing reporting by data centres operating in Ireland. Data centres in Ireland are already reporting this information to this confidential EU database for all reporting cycles and officials in my Department are engaging with the sector and the Commission on this reporting. The Commission will make its database publicly available in an aggregated manner in accordance with the Delegated Regulation.

While the Delegated Regulation itself does not specify penalties for non-compliance, it is intended that this will form part of the transposition of Article 12 requirements to also ensure compliance with these obligations.

My Department has progressed drafting of the relevant legislation in respect to the transposition of Article 12 to an advanced stage. This includes the finalisation of arrangements for assignment of compliance oversight functions to the appropriate public body which my Department is seeking to complete and implement as soon as possible. This is an important and complex measure that has required careful reflection.

Question No. 298 answered with Question No. 297.

Question No. 299 answered with Question No. 297.

Question No. 300 answered with Question No. 297.

Question No. 301 answered with Question No. 297.

Question No. 302 answered with Question No. 263.

Question No. 303 answered with Question No. 262.