Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I think this is the first question I have taken from a constituency colleague. Deputy Murphy asked whether it is major challenge. Yes, it is. It is not only a major challenge globally but locally in our constituency as well. We saw the devastating impact last December of the flooding. We have had ongoing flooding in turloughs since then. We have had issues of flash flooding throughout our constituency as well. This is an issue for all of us.

The 2009 EU renewable energy directive set Ireland a legally binding target of meeting 16% of our energy requirements from renewable energy sources by 2020. To meet this target, Ireland is committed to meeting 40% of electricity demand by renewable sources, 12% renewables in the heating sector and 10% in transport. The Government has adopted a range of support measures designed to meet our binding targets. Although good progress towards the target has been made to date, meeting the 16% target remains challenging. Provisional data from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland indicates we had reached 9.2% of the overall 16% target at the end of 2015.

In the electricity sector the primary support mechanisms introduced for renewable electricity are the alternative energy requirement schemes and the renewable energy feed-in-tariff schemes. These schemes have proved successful at incentivising the development of the renewable electricity generation capacity necessary to meet our 40% renewable electricity target. Provisional figures show that in 2015 some 25.3% of electricity demand was met by renewable sources.

In the heating sector my Department is working on the introduction of a new renewable heat incentive to support the deployment of renewable energy in the sector. The primary aim of the RHI is to build on the progress already made in heating and to help reach our 12% target by 2020. In 2015 it is estimated that 6.8% of heat was derived from renewable sources.

In the transport sector Ireland aims to meet our renewable target mainly through the increased use of sustainable biofuels, with electric vehicles making a small contribution as well.

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