I propose to take Questions Nos. 213 and 217 together.
The retrofit of the public sector building stock is essential to reaching our national and international decarbonisation targets and demonstrating leadership . My Department supports this through the Public Sector Energy Efficiency Programme and the Pathfinder Programme, in partnership with the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI). I was pleased to be able to allocate over €50m from the Climate Action Fund to this programme in 2025. This is supporting a range of projects including the scale up of major retrofitting projects across the health and further and higher education sectors and Local Authorities. I am bringing forward ambitious plans to develop the Pathfinder Programme between now and 2030 to support public bodies in their energy transition by offering up to 50% funding for projects, ranging from shallow retrofit to deep decarbonisation. The Programme for Government has recommitted to Ireland’s ambition to substantially reduce emissions by 2030 and to become climate neutral by 2050.
The Public Sector Decarbonisation Roadmap in visual form was presented to public sector bodies at the SEAI Public Sector Energy Efficiency Conference in May 2025, and I am considering the most constructive way to embed this in our work programme to 2030.