Alex White (Dublin South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Energy efficiency is crucially important to each of three pillars of energy policy, which are sustainability, security of supply and competitiveness. My Department is continuing to develop and enhance policy in this area and the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland is continuing to implement policy with the roll-out of efficiency measures in homes and businesses throughout the country. Ireland is strongly committed to playing its part in meeting EU energy and climate goals. To meet these obligations, Ireland must maintain a very significant level of effort. In order to do that, we must deliver energy infrastructure and policy initiatives of real scale. This requires investment of an equivalent scale and this is why EU funding is of critical importance for Ireland's successful delivery of our sustainable energy transition. As the Deputy may be aware, I will publish a definitive energy policy paper later this year, which will set out the key energy policy actions to be undertaken in the period to 2030.

There are complex interactions both within energy policy and between energy and the wide range of other policy areas that may be invested in by the European Fund for Strategic Investment, which is currently under negotiation. Therefore, it is important that the governance arrangements for EU funding proposals allow the European Investment Bank sufficient latitude to optimise the value of these funds in the interests of achieving coherent action across all EU member states and value for money for EU citizens.

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