Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 25 February 2026
19. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment to highlight the actions being taken by his Department to tackle the 30 barriers highlighted in the Joint Committee on Climate, Energy and the Environment report on the Barriers to Achieving Climate Targets; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15599/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThis Government is committed to delivering on Ireland’s responsibility to address the climate crisis and work remains ongoing across Government Departments to carry out climate mitigation efforts every day. In addition, the rollout of retrofitting programmes, renewable energy deployment, and more affordable electric vehicles continues at pace.
Ireland now has the lowest level of GHG emissions in 35 years which is notable given concurrent demographic and economic growth including an increase of approximately 1.5 million people, more than one million new homes and over one million extra vehicles on our roads.
We are making significant strides toward our target of 80% renewable energy by 2030 and we are now prioritising the development of offshore wind capacity. This Government has approved an unprecedented investment of €18.9 billion in Grid for the period 2026 – 2030 which is fundamental to the electrification of homes, businesses and transport. The 2025 ZEVI target for electrical vehicle sales of 195,000 was surpassed in October 2025 and I have just announced an unprecedented package of new and enhanced grants for homeowners across the country who are looking to benefit from home energy upgrades under the National Residential Retrofit Plan.
I welcome the publication of the "Report on Barriers to Achieving Climate Targets (2026-30)" by the Joint Committee on Climate, Environment and Energy which was released earlier this month.
The Committee engaged with stakeholders to identify what it considers to be 30 barriers inhibiting progress across five key sectors: Electricity, Agriculture, Transport, Business, and Construction. Addressing the matters raised requires a highly coordinated, whole-of-Government approach, as sectoral emissions ceilings and statutory responsibilities are distributed across various sectors of the economy.
In that regard, and in line with our Programme for Government commitment, enhanced implementation governance arrangements, to support coordinated and accelerated climate action delivery, have been put in place over the course of 2025 to streamline structures, ensure key strategic projects are supported and that corrective action is taken quickly where delivery is at risk.
I now chair the Climate Action Delivery Board (CADB), providing direct oversight to the work of this group and the Climate Action Programme Board (CAPPB) has also been established to provide co-ordinated oversight and strategic direction on the delivery of the Climate Action Plan. The Programme Board encompasses the chairs of climate delivery taskforces from across sectors to bring an overall cohesion and alignment to climate action, and to provide oversight and support to delivery taskforces in delivering their work programmes. These taskforces that report into the CAPPB are already working to address many of the issues raised in the report of the Committee. I can also confirm that the recommendations have been brought to the attention of the CAPPB for further consideration and to identify any gaps in the work programmes to address barriers to delivery in a coordinated manner across Government.
