Results 501-520 of 28,135 for speaker:Darragh O'Brien

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Departmental Funding (18 Sep 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: Galway City Council adopted its statutory Local Authority Climate Action Plan in February 2024. As part of its plan, Galway City chose the areas of Newcastle, Rahoon, Shantalla, and Westside as its Decarbonising Zone (DZ) to focus on a range of climate mitigation, adaptation and biodiversity measures. Galway City Council is also participating in the EU NetZeroCities Pilot Programme which...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Renewable Energy Generation (18 Sep 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: It is the ambition of this Government to rapidly expand renewable energy capacity to meet climate targets and ensure long-term energy security. This includes scaling up wind, solar, and grid infrastructure, supported by streamlined planning and regulatory processes. The Programme for Government has reaffirmed Ireland’s target of 80% of electricity demand to be met by renewables in the...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Renewable Energy Generation (18 Sep 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 132 and 147 together. The Programme for outlines the Government's commitment to deliver 80% of Ireland's electricity demand from renewable energy sources including 8GW of solar energy. The total installed capacity of solar generation connected to the grid currently stands at over 1.7 Gigawatts (GW) with a new record for peak solar generation set in July....

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: EU Agreements (18 Sep 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: Ireland has begun the process of formal withdrawal from the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) in a coordinated manner alongside other EU Member States, following negotiations as part of a bloc, led by the EU Commission. Each Country has different rules regarding treaties, both the joining of and exiting from them. In Ireland’s case, a decision to withdraw from an international treaty,...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Renewable Energy Generation (18 Sep 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: The development of the Renewable Heat Obligation (RHO) is a key priority for my Department and, following Government approval on the 15 July, the General Scheme of the RHO Bill 2025 was published and is available to view on Gov.ie at: assets.gov.ie/static/documents/RENEWABLE_HEAT_OBLIGATION_BIL L_2025.pdf. As part of the scheme development process, and in consultation with industry and...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Energy Conservation (18 Sep 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 135, 138, 142 and 153 together. The Climate Action Plan sets ambitious targets to retrofit the equivalent of 500,000 homes to a Building Energy Rating of B2/cost optimal level and install 400,000 heat pumps in existing homes by the end of 2030. A range of measures have been introduced under the National Retrofit Plan in recent years to support the...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Renewable Energy Generation (18 Sep 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: The Government is committed to supporting the sustainable growth of data centres and achieving the twin objective of decarbonisation and digitalisation at the heart of Government policy to deliver ambitious goals in relation to climate, economic growth and digitalisation. This is why the Programme for Government contains key commitments such as enhancing data centres’ use of...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Wind Energy Generation (18 Sep 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: Under the aegis of the Accelerating Renewable Electricity Taskforce, which was established under my Department, work is underway to carry out a coordinated national mapping exercise in compliance with the requirements of Article 15b of the recast Renewable Electricity Directive 2023/2413 (RED III). This work has been undertaken in consultation with all 31 Local Authorities, noting that...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Departmental Schemes (18 Sep 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 139 and 151 together. The Warmer Homes Scheme aims to improve the energy efficiency and warmth of homes owned by people at risk of energy poverty by providing fully funded retrofits. The scheme is operated by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) on behalf of my Department and is funded through carbon tax receipts and the European Regional...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Climate Action Plan (18 Sep 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: Although its share of emissions is relatively small nationally, the public sector plays a very important leadership role in delivering ambitious climate action. Section 15(1) of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015, as amended, requires bodies to perform their duties, in so far as practicable, in a manner consistent with, inter alia, the most recently approved Climate Action...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Energy Prices (18 Sep 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: The Government has made a number of important commitments in respect of addressing the continued high cost of energy. The Programme for Government acknowledges the increased energy cost pressures on households and businesses and commits to bringing forward taxation measures to help contain energy costs. Government approved an extension of the 9% VAT rate currently applied to gas and...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Electricity Generation (18 Sep 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: The Government has set a target of having at least 2GW of new, flexible, gas-fired generation capacity by 2030 in our Climate Action Plans to ensure secure generation of electricity at time of low renewable output and/or high demand. This allows for the integration of a large volume of wind and solar electricity projects that displace the need to run fossil fuel plants for baseload, without...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Noise Pollution (18 Sep 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: Noise nuisance caused by aircraft, including drones, is specifically excluded from the scope of Section 108 of the Environmental Protection Agency Act, 1992 which allows complaints to be made to the District Court. There are no proposals to change environmental legislation in this regard. As the Deputy may be aware, as Minister for Transport, I have previously provided details on the...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Electricity Transmission Network (18 Sep 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: The development of electricity grid capacity and the provision of connections for customers are the responsibility of the national Transmission System Operator, EirGrid, and Distribution System Operator, ESB Networks. These system operators are independent of me as Minister in the exercise of their respective functions, and both are overseen by the independent regulator, the Commission for...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Electricity Grid (18 Sep 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: Investing in our electricity network, and ensuring it is fit for purpose, is overseen by the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) in five-year cycles called Price Reviews. The CRU is an independent regulator, accountable to a Committee of the Oireachtas and not to me as Minister. The CRU is responsible for, inter alia, the economic regulation of the Irish electricity system operators...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Energy Conservation (18 Sep 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: My Department, through schemes administered by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), provides various supports to enterprises which can assist these sectors in increasing their energy efficiency and lowering their carbon emissions. There has been a high uptake, in particular, of the community energy grants and the support scheme for energy audits by SMEs. The following table...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Planning Issues (18 Sep 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: Ireland has attracted the best data centre and tech companies in the world. This is a really important relationship, and the Government continues to work with the sector towards a secure and decarbonised energy future. However, data centres, like all large energy users, have to exist within the boundaries of our climate legislation and targets. This is why the Programme for Government...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Energy Prices (18 Sep 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: The electricity and gas retail markets in Ireland operate within a European Union regulatory regime wherein electricity and gas markets are commercial and liberalised. Operating within this overall EU framework, responsibility for the regulation of the electricity and gas markets, including the matters raised by the Deputy, is solely a matter for the independent regulator, Commission for...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Planning Issues (18 Sep 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: In line with the agreed sectoral emissions ceilings, Government has committed to supporting the ambitious production of indigenously produced biomethane by 2030. A first step to realising this ambition was the publication of the National Biomethane Strategy which sets out 25 key strategic actions and outlines the necessary supports needed to drive growth across the biomethane sector. Chaired...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Tax Code (18 Sep 2025)

Darragh O'Brien: The Government has made a number of important commitments in respect of addressing the continued high cost of energy. The Programme for Government acknowledges the increased energy cost pressures on households and businesses and commits to bringing forward taxation measures to help contain energy costs. Since January 2022, a tax exemption applies to income up to €400 per year...