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

The programme for Government committed to allocate revenues raised from the increase in carbon tax rates out to 2030 to ensure that the increases in the carbon tax 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 of funding to encourage and incentivise farmers to farm in a greener and more sustainable way.

Between 2020 and 2023, my Department was allocated €660.5 million in carbon tax funding, of which €482.1 million or 73% was spent. The underspend was largely due to the significant challenges faced by the residential and community energy retrofitting programmes due to the impact of Covid-19 and supply chain constraints. In 2023 specifically, €299 million in carbon tax was allocated to my Department, of which more than €262 million or 88% was spent.

Over the period, carbon tax has been invested in the SEAI’s residential and community energy efficiency schemes which have delivered nearly 108,000 home energy upgrades, of which more than 33,860 were to a B2 building energy rating and more than 14,200 of which were free to homeowners at risk of energy poverty. In the same period nearly 9,500 heat pump installations have been supported.

Carbon tax has contributed to Ireland’s overall contribution to the Green Climate Fund. The fund supports the efforts of developing countries to respond to the challenge of climate change. It was also allocated to the national just transition fund, which has supported 56 locally led projects in the most affected areas, generating sustainable business and employment opportunities and reskilling workers to engage with the green economy.

In 2020, carbon tax funding was allocated to my Department to fund the continuation of electric vehicle grants and investment in charging infrastructure. In 2021, responsibility for these two programmes transferred to the Department of Transport.

See this speech in context