Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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121. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if he will transpose the EU definition of energy poverty into Irish law; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48996/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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Effective ways of defining, measuring and tracking energy poverty are essential for designing sound policy responses. Chapter 3 of the Energy Poverty Action Plan sets out the challenges in doing this.

Currently, the measurement of energy poverty in Ireland used by the ESRI is based on the level of expenditure on energy in a household. Households spending above 10% of total income on their energy needs (excluding energy for transport) are counted in the current measurement of energy poverty. Using this metric, the ESRI estimated that the share of households that could be at risk of energy poverty had risen to 29.4% in 2022.

However, this measurement does not capture the levels of energy deprivation or account for the energy efficiency of a home and is unable to identify households with the largest burden after increases in energy prices. In response, as set out in the plan, Government is providing funding to examine whether existing supports are well-targeted towards those who are at risk of energy poverty and the impact of those supports on the level of energy poverty. As part of this research the ESRI will, among other outcomes, propose a metric for measuring energy poverty that combines expenditure and energy efficiency.

Ireland recognises that the significant benefits arising from embracing energy efficiency include reduced costs to the Exchequer and households, increased competitiveness and job creation, reduced fossils fuel use, a reduction in energy poverty and increased energy security. Work is ongoing on the transposition of the Energy Efficiency Directive (EED), which is a core part of the Fit for 55 package, and is aimed at enhancing energy efficiency in every Member State of the EU. The EED contains a large number of measures to improve energy efficiency across every sector, including a definition of energy poverty.