My Department is currently developing a new green growth industrial strategy, which will build on the successful delivery of actions under Powering Prosperity - Ireland’s Offshore Wind Industrial Strategy and respond to a clear demand within the green technology sector for a broader industrial policy covering the wider renewable energy system. This strategy is earmarked for publication later this year.
The new strategy will take a holistic view of the renewable energy system and will have a core focus on supporting companies developing certain green technologies linked to the renewable energy system, including innovation and in-company research and development, and building the required supply chain for their deployment.
A public consultation to inform the development of the new strategy concluded in March 2026 and officials in my Department are analysing the submissions and conducting further targeted consultation, with insights from this process informing the ongoing development of the green growth industrial strategy. The consultation invited views on a broad suite of green and emerging technologies that could potentially benefit from strategic-level intervention, focused on renewable energy technologies, including generation technologies such as wind and solar, and wider network technologies such as energy storage and grid.
My Department is continuing to consult with industry on the development of the green growth industrial strategy, with discussions focusing on potential measures to address perceived barriers to the developed of green technologies in Ireland including access to research and innovation funding, and supply-chain constraints.
Key stakeholders in the development of the new strategy will include the enterprise development agencies – Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland – both of whom are working to capture the enterprise development opportunities for Ireland associated with green technologies.
IDA Ireland’s 2025-29 strategy, Adapt Intelligently, includes a focus on new growth opportunities. The strategy targets 1,000 investments to drive new R&D spend of €7 billion, new job creation of 75,000, the upskilling of 40,000 people, and a 35% reduction in IDA client carbon emissions. IDA Ireland’s existing grant supports aim to attract investment to Ireland and to drive productivity and competitiveness. Among these are Green Capital grants to promote competitiveness enhancing investments in decarbonisation and energy efficiency, as well as RD&I grants, training grants, and employment and capital grants for clients in eligible regional locations to support investment in new job creation and expansion of activities.
Enterprise Ireland supports many Irish owned companies across the renewable energy value chain through productivity to build scale, innovation, digitalisation and export focused supports. As more companies in the sector deliver scale, build international market presence and deepen technical capability, the business case for higher value domestic manufacturing opportunities—such as advanced assembly, component production and niche manufacturing with export potential—becomes increasingly realistic in response to evolving technology and market requirements.
At EU level the Net-Zero Industry Act (NZIA) and the proposed Industrial Accelerator Act (IAA) include measures to support the development of a variety of technologies/industries. The NZIA establishes a framework of measures to strengthen Europe's net-zero technology manufacturing ecosystem. There are 19 technologies in scope, including renewable energy technologies, and the Act aims to facilitate investments in manufacturing these green technologies. My Department continues to progress implementation of the Act.
The IAA, while still under negotiation at EU level, aims to de-risk private investment by reducing regulatory uncertainty through faster, more predictable permitting while creating lead markets that provide early, reliable demand for EU-made green technologies through tools such as public procurement.
Together, the NZIA and the IAA aim to strengthen Europe’s green industrial base by aligning supply-side manufacturing support with demand-side market creation.
