Ciarán Ahern (Dublin South West, Labour)
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337. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if he is aware that Irish-based financial institutions hold more than €31 billion in investments in fossil fuel industries; how he intends on encouraging such institutions to divest from polluting industries, given both national and global emissions reduction targets; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24339/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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My colleague, the Minister for Finance, leads on the achievement of the Government’s economic, fiscal and financial policy goals, having regard to the goals set out in the Programme for Government.

Since 2018 Ireland has operated a sovereign green bond programme which is open to all investors. The proceeds, some €11.3 billion to date, have been allocated to the Government’s environment and climate-friendly expenditure. More information on this programme can be found on the National Treasury Management Agency’s website here: www.ntma.ie/business-areas/funding-and-debt-management/government-securities/irish-sovereign-green-bond-documents.

In addition, to facilitate the investment by financial institutions in green industries, detailed rules for sustainability and climate disclosures in the European Union have been set out in the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) and the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), transposed by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. These reporting requirements, including the companies to which they will apply, are currently being re-examined under a package of proposals which the European Commission released in February.

Also, under the current ESRS, a company can make disclosures in relation to its Transition Plan including to enable an understanding of its efforts to ensure that its strategy and business model are compatible with the transition to a sustainable economy, the Paris Agreement and achieving climate neutrality by 2050 and where relevant, exposure to coal, oil and gas-related activities.