Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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52. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the degree to which dependency on fossil fuels has been reduced in line with national and international targets; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9345/21]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) manages the reporting process on energy consumption data to behalf of my Department.  The SEAI Energy in Ireland Report for 2019 shows a reduction in total fossil fuels, as a share of final energy consumption, from 81.9% in 2005 to 75.9% in 2019.

Under the Renewable Energy Directive 2009/28/EC, Ireland committed to meeting a target of at least 16% of gross final energy consumption from renewable sources by 2020. To assist in meeting this target, Ireland set a national target of achieving 40% of electricity produced from renewable sources.

The SEAI report that renewables made up 12.0% of gross final consumption in 2019, and that this avoided 5.8 million tonnes of CO2 emissions and over €500 million of fossil fuel imports.

Ireland has adopted a target of a 70% renewable share in electricity production by 2030. This will contribute to meeting the Programme for Government target of reducing Ireland’s greenhouse gas emissions by 51% by 2030, meeting the long-term target of climate neutrality by 2050, and to meeting the EU-wide binding target, under the recast Renewable Energy Directive (EU) 2018/2001, of 32% of the overall share of energy to come from renewable sources by 2030 .