Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 11 June 2026
34. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the progress to date on delivering grid reinforcement and storage capacity to support the increased integration of renewable energy; if he is satisfied that current timelines are sufficient to meet Ireland’s 2030 emissions reduction targets; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42814/26]
View answerPlanning, developing, safely operating and maintaining the electricity system are functions which are assigned to the respective Distribution and Transmission System Operators and for which they are accountable to the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU). EirGrid, as Transmission System Operator, has responsibility for the development of the Transmission Network and ESB Networks, as Distribution System Operator, has responsibility for the development of the Distribution Network.
As set out in the Programme for Government ensuring that the necessary investment is made in the electricity grid is a priority for Government. The CRU Price Review 6 (PR6) decision will see up to €18.9 billion invested in our electricity system over the coming 5 years, the largest ever electricity grid investment. This is a landmark investment to upgrade Ireland’s existing electricity infrastructure and deliver critical new infrastructure to meet future demand.
PR6 will unlock additional electricity capacity through an ambitious transmission and distribution capital programme, including 29 transmission priority projects and 31 distribution priority projects. These projects were identified as part of a wider DSO obligation to deliver HV reinforcements unlocking 3,999MVA of capacity on the distribution system during PR6.
As regards renewable generation and storage please note that cross Government work is ongoing to accelerate critical infrastructure. My Department is either leading on or part of numerous taskforces focused on delivering critical infrastructure for our citizens including the Accelerating Renewable Electricity Taskforce, the Offshore Wind Delivery Taskforce and the Accelerating Infrastructure Taskforce.
ESB Networks, EirGrid and CRU can be contacted directly in relation to specific queries at oireachtas@esb.ie, oireachtas@eirgrid.com and oireachtas@cru.ie.
