Eoin Hayes (Dublin Bay South, Social Democrats)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

706. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment his views on the public and private financial resources required and available to support his Department’s plans to meet Ireland’s climate targets by 2030; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19094/25]

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Ireland is investing in the decarbonisation of industry to improve its competitiveness and reduce its emissions in order to meet Climate Action Plan targets. More than a third of the €300 million Environmental Aid fund I announced last year has already been allocated to support the client companies of Enterprise Ireland (EI) and IDA Ireland to reduce their industrial emissions between now and 2030. This Government funding is being augmented by significant private investment.

In addition, the €500 million Growth and Sustainability Loan Scheme (GSLS) delivered by the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland has unlocked significant funding to enable SMEs, including farmers, fishers and mid-caps to avail of long-term finance at a lower cost to expand, diversify, improve productivity and invest in energy efficiency and sustainability.

Loans of between €25,000 and €3 million, with terms of up to 10 years and attractive terms and conditions, are available through participating finance providers. A minimum of 30% of the lending volume is allocated for environmental or sustainability purposes and these loans also benefit from an additional interest rate discount. As of the end of 2024, 1,427 loans worth €313 million had been sanctioned under the full range of GSLS qualifying criteria.

A number of other Government agencies offer climate funding to both industry and SMEs. The EU’s €55m Green Transition Fund is part of Ireland’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) and available through EI, IDA and Údarás na Gaeltachta. It offers funding to businesses to invest in the decarbonisation of their manufacturing processes as well as grants to explore the development of new sustainable products or services. Since its launch in June 2022 until the end of Q1 2025, €24.6m in funding has been approved for 562 projects.

The Local Enterprise Offices offer the Energy Efficiency Grant which can be used to invest in new energy efficient equipment, smart control systems or heat recovery. Last year, I changed its terms, raising the grant rate to 75% and the maximum investment ceiling to €10,000. In 2024, The Local Enterprise Offices approved Energy Efficiency Grants to 289 Small Businesses with a value of over two million euro. There are also a number of supports offered by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) for small and medium sized businesses to carry out energy and emission saving investments.

The spill over economic effects of decarbonisation cannot be underestimated. Reducing industry’s reliance on fossil fuels insulates them from volatile energy prices. Through utilising renewable fuels, industry has access to a clean, lower cost source of energy. Over time this reduces running costs and makes businesses more competitive.