Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein)
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16. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government when Ireland will transpose the Renewable Energy Directive (EU) 2023/2413 (RED III); and the interim measures which are in place to ensure renewable energy projects are not delayed due to this transposition being overdue. [57541/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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Ireland is actively taking a range of measures to transpose the third Renewable Energy Directive (RED III, EU Directive 2023/2413) as soon as possible. RED III stipulates requirements for the permit-granting procedure for renewable energy projects, in addition to requirements designed to increase the share of renewable energy across the electricity, heat and transport sectors, as well as in industry and buildings.

RED III is a complex and wide-ranging Directive which has presented challenges for timely transposition and implementation. All Member States, including Ireland, are under infringement proceedings for delays in transposing RED III.

Particular focus is being given to transposition and implementation of the permitting requirements of RED III, which are designed to streamline and accelerate the permit-granting process for renewable energy projects. These provisions had an earlier transposition deadline of July 2024.

Important progress has been made in this regard to make the necessary changes to the planning permitting systems and grid connection permitting systems. My colleague, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, recently enacted new planning legislation to meet the RED III permitting requirements through S.I. 274 of 2025, which includes maximum processing timelines for planning applications for RED III projects.

In parallel, under the new Electricity Connection Policy – Generation and System Services (ECP-GSS), applications for grid connections for RED III projects will be subject to expedited processing timelines by the electricity system operators ESBN and EirGrid as of the end of September 2025. Steps have also been taken to facilitate a smooth transition to the new RED III permitting requirements across planning and grid permitting processes. Further work is actively being undertaken with officials in the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and relevant permitting authorities to ensure full implementation of the RED III permitting requirements.

In parallel, steps are being taken to transpose the wider RED III requirements which had a transposition deadline of May 2025. The progression of these measures has been affected by the need to focus on infringement proceedings regarding RED II and the permitting provisions of RED III.

Notwithstanding, a range of measures are currently being progressed. This includes the drafting of secondary legislative instruments, which are underway in this Department and the Department of Transport. A public consultation also recently closed to seek the views of the public regarding the national territory mapping for renewable energy deployment required under Article 15b of RED III and any key considerations that should be taken into account in preparing a draft plan for the designation of a Renewable Acceleration Area (under Article 15c).