Alex White (Dublin South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The overarching objective of the Government's energy policy is to ensure secure and sustainable supplies of competitively priced energy to all consumers as our energy system undergoes the radical transformation required to meet our climate change policy objectives. A well balanced fuel mix that provides reliable energy, minimises costs and protects against supply disruptions and price volatility is essential to Irish consumers as we make this transition. By 2050, greenhouse gas emissions from the energy sector will be reduced by between 80% and 95%, compared to 1990 levels in line with the EU objective. By the end of the century in 2100 our greenhouse gas emissions will have fallen to zero or below. While fossil fuels will remain a progressively decreasing part of the energy mix as we transition to a largely decarbonised energy system by 2050, significant progress is already being made in increasing the share of renewables in that mix.

Our immediate focus is on the period to 2020. In addition to the EU's 2020 targets for emissions reductions, the 2009 EU renewable energy directive sets Ireland a legally binding target of meeting 16% of our energy requirements from renewable sources by 2020. Ireland is committed to achieving this target through meeting 40% of electricity demand, 12% of heat and 10% of transport from renewable sources of energy, with the latter transport target also being legally binding.

Figures provided by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI, show that, in 2014, 8.6% of Ireland's overall energy requirements were met from renewable sources. More specifically, the SEAI has calculated that 22.7% of electricity, 6.6% of heat and 5.2% of transport energy requirements were from renewable sources in 2014.

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