Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 18 February 2026
10. Deputy Catherine Callaghan asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment if there is scope to increase the total funding allocated to Carlow in the climate action fund; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11854/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Climate Action Fund (CAF) was established to provide assistance and financial support to projects which will help Ireland achieve its climate and energy targets. The CAF will provide at least €500 million in government funding up to 2027 towards this aim.
Funding is provided directly to local authorities such as Carlow County Council from the Climate Action Fund under strand 1 of the Community Climate Action Programme.
Strand 1 of the Community Climate Action Programme (CCAP) supports Local Authorities to build low carbon, sustainable communities in a coherent way.
This strand of the CCAP provides €53.9M in funding across two phases to Local Authorities. This funding facilitates community projects that contribute to national climate and energy targets at a local level. CCAP also provides an administrative contribution to each Local Authority towards the cost of employing a Community Climate Action Officer (CCAO) in each Local Authority to liaise with community groups and support them delivering climate action projects.
Under Phase 1 of this programme, Carlow was allocated €378,000 in project funding and brought forward projects with a total value of €374,537. To date, Carlow has drawn down €238,960.23 of that allocation. Additionally, since the launch of the CCAP in 2023, Carlow has received €139,354.83 in administrative contributions from my Department supporting the Carlow Community Climate Action Officer.
Under Phase 2 of the CCAP launched in October 2025, Carlow has been allocated €378,000 in project funding. In addition to this, Carlow County Council has received a commitment from my Department to continue the administrative contribution in support of Carlow’s Community Climate Action Officer, until the CCAP concludes at the end of 2027.
The procedure of allocating funds to local authorities was agreed during the design of the CCAP in 2022. Each Local Authority received a minimum allocation of €200,000 plus an additional per capita allocation based on census population data. During preparation for the launch of the second phase of Strand 1 of the CCAP, the CCAP working group, which includes representatives of the local authorities, agreed to the distribution of funds on the same per capita basis as was used in the first phase of Strand 1.
The potential for further allocations of funding to local authorities from the Climate Action Fund will depend on assessment of the impact of the CCAP and the level of funding required from projects submitted as part of this second Phase.
