Noel McCarthy (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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155. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government further to Parliamentary Question No. 55 of 10 April 2025, to provide an update on his Department’s involvement in the accelerating renewable electricity taskforce and the development of an associated policy framework; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30266/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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The Accelerating Renewable Electricity Taskforce was established to accelerate and increase the deployment of onshore renewable electricity generation by focusing on the three key pillars of renewables development – Planning; Grid Development and System Services; and Route to Market. This cross-Government Taskforce, which is chaired at Assistant Secretary level in my Department, is identifying and prioritising the required policies needed to achieve our onshore renewable electricity targets.

Officials from my Department sit on every working group under the Taskforce, which meets on a quarterly basis. The most recent meeting was held on 26 May last.

Under the aegis of the Taskforce, work is underway on developing a supporting policy framework for Ireland’s electricity supply. This will deliver a regional balance and distribution of renewable technologies, including solar PV and onshore wind, and enable Ireland’s electricity supply to keep pace with economic growth, protecting Irish homes and businesses from volatile fossil fuel prices through the deployment of indigenous wind and solar energy across our regions.

As part of this approach, Regional Renewable Electricity Capacity Allocations for solar and onshore wind were included in the First Revision of the National Planning Framework, published in April 2025. The inclusion of these allocations is a critical step towards achieving Ireland’s national renewable electricity targets and will support a plan-led approach to the strategic planning of renewable technologies, delivering a fair regional balance and distribution of the associated infrastructure.

Officials from my Department, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland are now working with the three Regional Assemblies to support them in the integration of these allocations as part of the development of Regional Renewable Energy Strategies, which will translate the regional allocations into local authority-level targets and will inform City and County Development Plans.

John Clendennen (Offaly, Fine Gael)
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156. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government to outline his assessment of the public consultation response notice for community benefit funds under the renewable electricity support scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30318/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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The RESS (Renewable Electricity Support Scheme) mandates that each project participating in the scheme contribute a minimum of €2 per Megawatt-hour (MWh) of electricity generated annually to a Community Benefit Funds (CBFs). The CBF payments are distributed across household payments, Sustainable Development initiatives, and administration costs.

My Department launched a public consultation to hear from developers, communities and other stakeholders on how CBFs are working in practice and how they can be improved. These funds are key to ensuring that communities hosting renewable energy projects see tangible benefits, which is an important part of our just transition to a low-carbon future.

The changes introduced are intended to clarify the roles of all parties associated with the CBFs, to simplify the overall processes attached to the CBF and to make the overall CBF programme more transparent. These modifications have been implemented in the RESS Terms and Conditions, as well as in a new CBF Rulebook that provides further guidance.

There is no change to the minimum annual mandatory €2 per MWh contribution. Additionally, the obligation for all RESS Projects to maintain their CBF, even after RESS support ceases, introduced at RESS 4, remains unchanged.

A key issue raised in the consultation was the need to simplify the governance arrangements, such as increasing the maximum amount allowed to be allocated to administration costs during the first year and introducing further flexibility for small CBFs. The need to standardise the amounts of household payments to ensure consistency was also identified as a important change. Further details on the modifications introduced are available on the Consultation website.

These changes will have a positive impact as they address issues identified by stakeholders. My Department will continue to engage with all stakeholders to review any feedback arising from the changes to the CBF that have been implemented and to address future needs and to ensure that communities hosting renewable projects directly benefit.