Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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213. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government for an update on his Department’s work on the public sector building stock decarbonisation, as committed to in the Climate Action Plan 2025 and due in Quarter 4 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55477/25]

Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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217. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government for an update on his Department’s work to progress the implementation and governance of the public sector building stock decarbonisation roadmap to guide progress towards the 2030 targets, as committed to in the Climate Action Plan 2025 and due in Quarter 3 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55499/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 213 and 217 together.

The retrofit of the public sector building stock is essential to reaching our national and international decarbonisation targets and demonstrating leadership . My Department supports this through the Public Sector Energy Efficiency Programme and the Pathfinder Programme, in partnership with the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI). I was pleased to be able to allocate over €50m from the Climate Action Fund to this programme in 2025. This is supporting a range of projects including the scale up of major retrofitting projects across the health and further and higher education sectors and Local Authorities. I am bringing forward ambitious plans to develop the Pathfinder Programme between now and 2030 to support public bodies in their energy transition by offering up to 50% funding for projects, ranging from shallow retrofit to deep decarbonisation. The Programme for Government has recommitted to Ireland’s ambition to substantially reduce emissions by 2030 and to become climate neutral by 2050.

The Public Sector Decarbonisation Roadmap in visual form was presented to public sector bodies at the SEAI Public Sector Energy Efficiency Conference in May 2025, and I am considering the most constructive way to embed this in our work programme to 2030.

Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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214. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government for an update on his Department’s development of a circular economy roadmap for the construction sector, as committed to in the Climate Action Plan 2025 and due in Quarter 4 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55478/25]

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Construction and Demolition (C&D) waste, which includes all waste produced by the C&D of buildings and road infrastructure, accounts for over a third of all waste generated in the EU. C&D waste contains a wide variety of materials such as concrete, bricks, wood, glass, metals and plastics. It is the largest waste stream in Ireland in terms of both volume and weight and is a priority for increased circularity at both a national and EU level.

Given this context, the second Whole of Government Circular Economy Strategy, which is currently out for public consultation, includes a dedicated chapter for the Built Environment as provided for in section 7 of the Circular Economy and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2022 and includes actions and targets in addition to cross-cutting measures with the most potential to make significant contributions to the circular transition. It is intended to bring this strategy to Government for approval before the end of the year.

In tandem, the Department is currently finalising a Circularity Roadmap for the Construction and Demolition sector which will include actions to improve the sustainability and overall circularity rate of this sector. This roadmap will be informed by two key circularity focussed documents published by the sector over the last 12 months including the 2024 Construction Sector Group Report Supporting the Circular Economy Transition in the Irish Construction Sector and the Building a Circular Ireland Roadmap from the Irish Green Building Council in 2025.

The Roadmap will support the better use of secondary materials, circular construction methods, digital tools for materials tracking, and guidance for sustainable planning and procurement. Publication will be aligned with that for the Circular Economy Strategy.

Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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215. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government for an update on his Department’s development of a Just Transition Indicators Framework, as committed to in the Climate Action Plan 2025 and due in Quarter 4 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55496/25]

Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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216. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government for an update on his Department’s development of a Just Transition Policy Toolkit intended to support the integration of just transition considerations in policymakers and due in Quarter 4 2025, as committed to in the Climate Action Plan 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55497/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 215 and 216 together.

My Department recently published its Statement of Strategy for the period 2025-2028. This Strategy includes a key strategic objective to provide climate leadership to accelerate the delivery of a just transition to climate neutrality. As a key action to deliver on this objective, my Department is developing a just transition strategy which is due for publication next year. This strategy will aim to set out a clear and understood vision for a just transition to a climate neutral economy and society. In this context, I am considering the optimum approach to the development of the Just Transition Indicators Framework and the Just Transition Toolkit.

The development of the strategy is also in line with the recommendations of the Just Transition Commission's Introductory Report (June 2025) in which the Commission called for a shared vision and for a "strategic approach to put just transition at the heart of climate action".

Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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218. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government for an update on his Department’s development of the first draft of the National Building Renovation Plan in line with the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, as committed to in the Climate Action Plan 2025 and due in Quarter 4 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55501/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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My Department is currently developing Ireland’s National Building Renovation Plan which will outline the renovation of the residential and non-residential building stock, both public and private, into a highly energy-efficient and decarbonised building stock by 2050, with the objective of transforming existing buildings into zero-emission buildings.

As part of our role in the coordination and development of this plan, my Department is currently working alongside other Departments in the consideration of policies and measures, including those required under the recast Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, to be included in the plan.

My Department will be inviting all stakeholders to share their views on a draft version of the plan as part of this process, including individuals and groups most impacted by energy poverty. The public consultation will be well publicised to ensure all stakeholders are aware of the time window to provide their views. Once the public consultation is completed, all views will be considered and incorporated as appropriate into a final version of the National Building Renovation Plan.

Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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219. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government for an update on his Department’s management of the renewable electricity support scheme, as committed to in the Climate Action Plan 2025 and due in Quarter 4 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55502/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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The Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS) is Ireland’s flagship policy to deliver on our renewable electricity targets under the Climate Action Plan and Programme for Government and has been instrumental in providing a supportive policy environment for Ireland’s growing renewables sector since the first auction in 2020.

The fifth onshore RESS auction, RESS 5, was completed in September 2025 in line with the auction timetable and commitments in the Climate Action Plan. The RESS 5 Provisional Results were published by EirGrid on 24 September, with Final Results expected to be published on 15 October. The RESS 5 results represent a major boost for Ireland’s energy transition, securing enough clean renewable electricity to power over 350,000 Irish homes annually through the development of new indigenous onshore wind and solar capacity. The RESS 5 auction has delivered competitive outcomes, with the average RESS 5 price approximately €20/MWh below 2025 average wholesale electricity prices to date.

Pre-qualification for the 900 MW ORESS Tonn Nua offshore wind auction opened on 22 September 2025 and closed for applications on 26 September. Final qualification decisions will be notified to the applicants on 31 October 2025. The bidding window will then open on 17 November and close on 20 November. The Final Auction Results will be announced on 9 December.

The completion timelines of RESS 5 and the ORESS Tonn Nua Auction are in line with Action EL/25/1 of the Climate Action Plan 2025, which sets out that all onshore and offshore RESS auctions be completed by Q4 2025.

The current RESS State Aid decision covers auctions held up until the end of 2025. Officials from my Department have been engaging closely with the European Commission on securing an extension to this approval with a view to holding further auctions. Any amended decision will issue under the Commission’s new Clean Industrial Deal State Aid Framework (CISAF) which was published this summer.

The Programme for Government includes a commitment to hold at least one RESS auction per year, with an updated calendar of future auctions expected to be published in the coming months.

Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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220. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government for an update on his Department’s development of a data sharing framework regarding low carbon technologies connected to the electricity grid, as committed to in the Climate Action Plan 2025 and due in Quarter 4 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55503/25]

Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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221. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government for an update on his Department’s development of smart-flex standards roadmap, as committed to in the Climate Action Plan 2025 and due in Quarter 3 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55504/25]

Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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222. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government for an update on his Department’s development of customer-led flexible demand processes, as committed to in the Climate Action Plan 2025 and due in Quarter 4 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55505/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 220, 221 and 222 together.

My Department is acutely aware that with the scale of distributed renewable electricity generation sources coming onto the grid, the grid needs to be more flexible to account for the intermittent nature of renewables. Moreover, for the decarbonisation pathway to be efficient, our energy system must be smart. A smart and flexible energy system will reduce consumer energy bills by reducing the amount of generation and network assets that need to be built to meet peak demand. Consequently, the deployment and integration of Energy Smart Appliances (ESAs) such as electric vehicle (EV) charge points, domestic battery energy storage systems (BESS), heat pumps and hot water heating solutions is a crucial step for empowering households and businesses to play a central role in Ireland’s energy transition.

Consequently, my Department established the Smart Energy Services Working Group (SESWG) under the CAP 23 with the objective of developing ‘measures and policy that facilitate and empower consumers to benefit from engagement in the energy transition, through active participation in the energy market and flexible demand management services’. The SESWG identified a number of priority focus areas including the development of Smart-Flex standards to support the integration and interoperability of consumer energy assets, such as smart appliances, Heat Pumps, EVs and solar PV systems. CAP 25 includes an action to Develop a Smart-flex Standards Roadmap. This will set out the pathway for mandating energy smart appliance capabilities, in line with crucial consumer empowerment measures required under the EU Electricity Market Design changes.

A new Demonstration and Innovation delivery programme is also under development by SEAI with the intention of identifying solutions to smart energy challenges, testing applications and assessing impacts. This will be crucial for the successful integration of flexible energy assets in homes, businesses and communities and ensure that these assets can optimise energy use for consumers, as well as allow consumers to participate in flexible demand management services as these become available.