Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 14 July 2026
259. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the estimated total output of CO2 by all companies operating in Ireland in each of the years 2024, 2025, and to date in 2026 (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53390/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are responsible for monitoring and reporting on emissions in Ireland.
According to the recently published provisional estimates of Ireland’s greenhouse gas emissions between 1990 and 2025, industrial emissions dropped to 6.0 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (Mt CO2eq.), which is a 15.9% decrease on 2018 levels. Manufacturing combustion was the main source of industry emissions in 2025 at 4.2 Mt CO2eq. Industrial process emissions, arising mostly in the cement sector, made up the balance at 1.83 Mt CO2eq. Hard to abate sectors such as the cement sector achieved a reduction of 24.1% since 2018, from 2.9 Mt CO2eq. in 2018, to 2.2 Mt CO2eq. in 2025.
In 2024, total industrial emissions were 6.2 Mt CO2eq., which was a 13.2% decrease on 2018 levels.
The commercial built environment in Ireland (including public sector buildings) consists of approximately 123,700 buildings. In 2018 emissions from the commercial built environment was 2 Mt CO2eq. and accounted for 3.4% of the total national greenhouse gas emissions. The latest EPA report indicates that emissions from the commercial and public built environment decreased by 4% and 3%, respectively, in 2025. Cumulatively emissions from the commercial built environment decreased by 16.6% since the baseline year of 2018.
The EPA reports on emissions data from the year before each summer and as such no data is available for 2026. I am working towards reducing industrial on-site emissions by 35% by 2030, compared to 2018 levels, in line with Ireland’s Sectoral Emissions Ceilings.
As Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment I am committed to working with industry and enterprise to rapidly enable their decarbonisation plans. Businesses across Ireland are increasingly investing in measures to be both more environmentally sustainable and economically competitive.
In June 2024, I ringfenced €300m for Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland to incentivise industrial decarbonisation projects among their client bases. This funding is being used for investing in energy efficiency, renewable heat, electrification and innovative low-carbon technologies, reducing energy costs, which helps manufacturing businesses to become more competitive and, crucially, have greater energy security. To date, 43 projects have been approved to a value of more than €163m in grant aid through this Environmental Aid Fund. In addition, the agencies are also providing €141m in grant aid through other funding mechanisms, in support of industrial decarbonisation measures. These grants have leveraged more than €1bn of private investment from the companies involved. Many of these investment commitments will be completed in the latter half of the decade. The investments listed above which will be responsible for the further removal of more than 346,377 tonnes of CO2eq from industry.
The decarbonisation of our commercial buildings requires reducing energy consumption and increasing the use of renewable energy, especially for space and water heating. In addition, the use of smart technologies to monitor, control and optimise a building’s energy performance is a key tools to drive better energy use and reduced emissions. Businesses of all sizes can access the SEAI’s Business Energy Upgrades Scheme, which supports high-quality energy audits and a range of building upgrades, including solar thermal and solar PV installations, automatic controls, heat pumps, air-handling units, ventilation, and fabric improvements such as wall insulation. In 2025, 186 grants were approved under the scheme, with funding of €3.36 million.
The Local Enterprise Office Energy Efficiency Grant can also support investment in technologies and equipment recommended in an approved energy audit, providing 75% of eligible costs from a minimum grant of €750 to a maximum of €10,000. This has proved an impactful support for smaller businesses.
