Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 18 March 2026
123. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment given the Environmental Protection Agency’s assessment that current and planned measures will result in Ireland missing its 2030 targets by a significant margin, the additional measures being prepared to close this gap. [19830/26]
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. My priority is accelerating implementation of high impact actions with the rollout of retrofitting, renewable energy deployment, and more affordable electric vehicles continuing at pace.
Ireland now has the lowest level of greenhouse gas 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. The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) most recent emissions reporting confirms that Ireland has recorded overall greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions for a third consecutive year, with a decrease of 6.8% in 2023 followed by a further 2% reduction in 2024.
This progress is further underlined by recent international comparisons from the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) in June 2025 which confirms that Ireland's emissions intensity per unit of Gross National Income (GNI) is significantly lower than other developed economies, and indicates that we are successfully decoupling our continued economic growth from emissions.
The latest EPA projections report highlights that meeting Ireland's 2030 target will be challenging. According to this report, which is based on the latest available data, a 23% reduction is projected against the target of 51%. It worth noting, however, that the EPA's projections are updated annually in light of delivery progress and emerging data, and their definitive assessment of Ireland's performance against the 2030 target will be made after that date.
In the meantime, we are focusing on significantly accelerating our delivery. This means doing more and doing it faster and, in this regard, it is worth noting the unprecedented progress currently being made including:
• We are making significant strides toward our target of 80% renewable energy by 2030, having now reached the major milestone of 8GW onshore renewable electricity generation.
• Just last month wind energy provided a record 50% of our electricity. We have doubled our onshore wind energy capacity over the past 10 years 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, with sales now at 212,000.
• I have recently 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.
In line with our Programme for Government commitment, enhanced implementation governance structures to support accelerated climate action delivery, have been put in place in 2025 to streamline structures and ensure that key strategic projects are supported. The Climate Action Delivery Board (CADB), which I now chair, and the Climate Action Programme Board (CAPPB) provide co-ordinated oversight and strategic direction on the delivery of the Climate Action Plan measures and actions and provide oversight and support to delivery taskforces in delivering their work programmes. Through these structures we will continue to focus on closing the gap to reach our 2030 targets.
