Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 101 and 102 together.

I thank both Deputies for the questions. The latest projections from the EPA are a clear signal that, while we have made progress, we need to move faster to meet our 2030 climate targets, and that is going to be incredibly challenging and incredibly difficult. The Government is building significant momentum and the EPA's analysis will help to guide that. In particular, the next phase of the work as we accelerate delivery to meet and exceed our ambitious climate targets. Our progress in recent years provides a strong foundation for this acceleration. In 2023, for example, Ireland achieved its most substantial single-year emissions reduction on record, falling by 6.8%. This is clear evidence that policies are delivering tangible results. We are successfully demonstrating that a thriving economy and climate can go hand in hand.

Since 1990, and it is important to look at where we have come from, our economy has grown dramatically and our population has increased by half. Over the period 1990 to 2005, emissions increased from 56 megatonnes to 70.2 megatonnes, but since the peak, Ireland has successfully reduced these emissions by 22% to 55 megatonnes, showing that, with a determined response, we can reverse these trends in the most challenging of circumstances.

We have always known that meeting the carbon budgets and delivering the economic and societal transformation will be challenging. All of us recognise that. However, the vast majority of people in this country back climate action and we are already dealing with the effects of climate change, so this Government's mandate and resolve around climate action is unwavering. It is important to remember that Government initiatives are working and Irish people, communities and businesses are making this change. We need to accelerate and build on that momentum.

It is important to recognise those efforts across Irish society. We achieved almost a 7% reduction in emissions in 2023. We are undergoing a renewables-led energy transformation. Peat is gone, coal is on the way out by the end of this month, and renewables are now the backbone of our power mix. Electricity generation from renewables has increased fivefold since 2005. A total of 40% of Ireland's electricity demand was met by renewable energy last year. This represents significant progress since 2005 when the comparable figure was 7% of our energy being generated by renewables compared with 40% last year.

By 2025, Ireland has 6.5 GW of grid scale renewable electricity generation capacity, which comprises 5 GW of wind and 1.5 GW of solar. This is 13 times the 0.5 GW of solar and wind electricity infrastructure that Ireland had in 2005. We are delivering new interconnectors. The Greenlink interconnector to Britain is now operational. That doubles Ireland's interconnector capacity. The Celtic interconnector to France is on track to be completed by 2026-27. The North-South project, which is crucial, is advancing, yet delayed. These projects boost energy security and allow greater import and export of clean power. Private wires policy, which I will introduce, is designed to unlock private investment in electricity infrastructure by allowing generators to connect directly with users. This will mean quicker connections, more clean power on the ground and less strain on our national grid. The switch to electric vehicles, EVs, is accelerating. While we did not hit our target last year and it is unlikely that the target of more than 900,000 vehicles by 2030 will be hit, we will still have a significant increase. In April, there was a 23% increase in EV registrations compared to the same time last year.

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