Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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190. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government when the consultation on plans designating renewables acceleration areas for one or more types of renewable energy sources under Article 15c of the RED III Directive is due to commence. [47096/25]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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191. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government which public authority or authorities will designate renewable acceleration areas for one or more types of renewable energy sources under Article 15c of the RED III Directive. [47097/25]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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205. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government when the consultation on plans designating renewables acceleration areas for one or more types of renewable energy sources under Article 15c of the RED III Directive is due to commence. [47470/25]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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206. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the public authority or authorities that will designate renewables acceleration areas for one or more types of renewable energy sources under Article 15c of the RED III Directive; and when will the necessary transposing legislation be put in place. [47471/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 190, 191, 205 and 206 together.

Under the aegis of the Accelerating Renewable Electricity Taskforce, work is underway to ensure compliance with the requirements of the recast Renewable Electricity Directive 2023/2413 (REDIII). The Directive sets an overall renewable energy target of at least 42.5% binding at EU level by 2030 - but aiming for 45%. Ireland has a target of 43% of total energy consumption and 80% of electricity demand to be supplied by renewable energy sources.

The Directive also requires EU Member States to carry-out national territory mapping (under Article 15b), to identify the domestic potential and the available areas that are necessary for the installation of renewable energy plants and their related infrastructure as required, to meet Ireland’s national contributions towards the overall EU renewable energy target for 2030. The Directive also requires Member States to ensure that competent authorities identity at least one Renewable Acceleration Area (RAA) (under Article 15c), which must be a “sub-set” of areas identified under the national territory mapping exercise.

In accordance with Article 15b, work on a coordinated mapping exercise has been undertaken in consultation with all thirty-one local authorities, noting that lands have already been identified and designated by several Local Authorities, in existing City/County Development Plans, for renewable energy development, in particular grid scale onshore wind and solar PV. These plans have been subject to environmental assessments and statutory public consultation and are adopted by each Local Authority.

On this basis, my Department wrote to each local authority and requested that they provide their existing spatial plans. This material has been received and collated into national territory maps, depicting those areas designated by Local Authorities for both grid scale onshore wind and solar PV, and amalgamates and harmonises all the various local Planning Authority designations into uniform national classifications. It is important to note that these maps do not alter or amend any existing City/County Development Plan, nor does it affect their status under any enactment.

On Wednesday 3rd September 2025, DCEE launched non-statutory Public Consultation on the national territory mapping, running until Friday 10th October 2025. This non-statutory public consultation aims to take into account the views of the public, in the inclusion of areas already designated for renewable energy generation in existing plans for the purposes of the mapping exercise required under Article 15b of REDIII.

The purpose of the Public Consultation is also to invite any key considerations from the public, in preparing a draft plan for the designation of at least one Renewable Acceleration Area, as required under Article 15c of REDIII, noting that any area must be a “sub-set” of the areas identified in the “national territory mapping” exercise.

Further information on this Public Consultation is available on my Department’s website.

Following the completion of Article 15b compliance requirements to the European Commission, the process for designating at least one RAA will be undertaken, including further public consultation, which is a specific requirement of Article 15d of the Directive.