Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 April 2026
342. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the number of pieces of legislation, functions of agencies or public bodies that are now exempt from section 15 of Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015. [28011/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Government is fully committed to delivering on Ireland’s climate ambition across all sectors, and to progressing climate action in a planned and coherent way which ensures that affordability, competitiveness and energy security are central to our future climate planning. This is provided for in legislation through the provisions of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015 (as amended) (the "Climate Act").
Section 15 of the Climate Act requires that relevant bodies shall, in so far as practicable, perform their functions in a manner consistent with a range of specified plans, strategies and objectives.
Currently, no enacted legislation, specific agency or public body functions have been exempted from obligations arising from Section 15 of Climate Act, albeit such provisions have been proposed in a number of recent bills.
It should be noted that the Development (Emergency Electricity Generation) Act 2022 and the Environmental Protection Agency (Emergency Electricity Generation) (Amendment) Act 2023 do not provide an explicit exemption from Section 15 of the Climate Act. Rather, both Acts provide for the application of Section 15 in the specific context of designated emergency electricity generation projects, having regard to the urgent and exceptional need to protect security of electricity supply.
The recent Supreme Court judgment on the Coolglass Wind Farm Ltd case provides useful clarification on the operation of Section 15 and, in particular, how it interacts with the statutory planning framework. It clarifies that the legislative framework that underpins our climate ambition is effective and it also provides confidence that the planning policy framework is one that is reflective of this ambition.
