Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

The programme for Government commits that carbon tax revenues will be used to ensure carbon tax increases are progressive by spending €3 billion on targeted social welfare and other initiatives to prevent fuel poverty and ensure a just transition; to provide €5 billion to part-fund a socially progressive national retrofitting programme; and to allocate €1.5 billion to encourage and incentivise farmers to farm in a greener and more sustainable way. Between 2020 and 2023, my Department spent €482.1 million of carbon tax funds. A total of €472 million of these funds have been invested in Ireland's world-leading retrofit schemes, delivering 108,000 home energy upgrades, increasing from 17,546 in 2020 to 47,953 in 2023, and an increase in free upgrades under the warmer homes scheme, from 1,473 in 2020 to 5,898 in 2023, at an increased average cost of €25,000 per free upgrade.

A total of €8 million supported Ireland's contribution to the green climate fund to support developing countries to respond to climate change. Half a million was spent on the national just transition fund, supporting 56 locally led projects. In 2020, carbon tax funds were used to fund electric vehicle, EV, grants and EV infrastructure. Responsibility for that has since been transferred to the Department of Transport. This year, an allocation of €388 million of carbon tax funds is in place and will be spent.

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