Ciarán Ahern (Dublin South West, Labour)
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211. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government his views on the Taoiseach’s comments on 9 October 2025 in which he suggested that climate initiatives will not be fulfilled due to a risk of causing polarisation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56628/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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This Government is committed to achieving the climate ambition as expressed in the National Climate Objective and set out in the Programme for Government. This is something that I am very focussed on as Minister, and I will continue to work closely with the Taoiseach and other members of government to realise this ambition. I am also deeply conscious of the need to deliver a transition that is just and fair, and which keeps Irish citizens at its heart. The Government recognises that the scale and pace of this transition presents significant challenges and requires cross-societal engagement and consensus. It is, therefore, essential that this transformation is managed fairly and inclusively. The principle of a Just Transition remains central to our approach, ensuring that the journey to climate neutrality protects vulnerable communities, supports sustainable employment, and distributes the costs of climate action equitably.

For this reason, we continue to target the most at need households through our carbon tax and Exchequer funded free retrofit programme with €558 million committed in Budget 2026 to the SEAI for residential and community energy upgrades, which includes the free upgrade Warmer Homes Scheme.

Managing the transition in this way is vital to maintaining the strong public consensus that already exists. Findings from Climate Conversations 2024 confirm that support for climate action among the Irish public is both deep and widespread. Government is committed to supporting people, households and businesses in turning that support into action.

To support the delivery of high-impact actions, I have strengthened our climate delivery structures including the newly established Climate Action Plan Programme Board (CAPPB) which is chaired by my Department and comprises relevant Assistant Secretaries from across Government. This new board will drive delivery and engage directly with the taskforces set up under the Climate Action Plan 2024, and before, including the taskforces on onshore and offshore renewable electricity, heat and the built environment, transport and agriculture. I am also now directly chairing the Climate Action Delivery Board which brings the heads of all key Government Departments together to provide enhanced and co-ordinated oversight and strategic direction across Government.

This work is helping to build on the significant momentum Ireland has established, with major progress in a number of areas including:

• Electricity generation from renewable sources has increased fivefold since 2005. Ireland removed peat fired electricity generation in 2023 and, in June 2025, Ireland successfully phased out coal fired power generation at Moneypoint marking a significant milestone in Ireland's energy transition.
• The 2025 ZEVI target for electric vehicle sales of 195,000 will be met in the coming weeks.
• The Solar for Schools programme has now been offered to every school in the country at no cost, with over 2,000 installations completed to date.
• Onshore Wind energy provided 48% of Ireland’s power last February, and last January Ireland hit the important milestone of 5GW of installed onshore wind capacity.
• We are also prioritising the development of offshore wind capacity through its delivery taskforce. There are presently 5 Phase One Offshore wind developments, all of which are being progressed through the planning system.