Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein)
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200. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government when the climate action plan 2026 will be published; the reasons for the delay; if it will be published within Q2; and if he anticipates it will be published before the summer recess. [41364/26]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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This Government is committed to delivering on Climate Action. Work remains ongoing across Government Departments to carry out climate action every day, and the rollout of retrofitting, renewable energy deployment, and more affordable electric vehicles continues at increasing pace. Ireland now has the lowest level of GHG emissions in 35 years which is notable given concurrent demographic and economic growth including an increase of approximately 1.5 million people, more than one million new homes and over one million extra vehicles on our roads.

This week, the Environmental Protection Agency has launched its latest Greenhouse Gas Emissions Projections. These projections show us that we are moving in the right direction and improving our performance, both WEM and WAM have improved on last year's figures, now at 13% and 25% respectively, and we are on track to come close to our first carbon budget.

We are making significant strides toward our target of 80% renewable energy by 2030, having now reached the major milestone of 8GW onshore renewable electricity generation. We are now prioritising the development of our offshore wind capacity. We have doubled our wind energy capacity over the past 10 years, just last month wind energy provided a record 50% of our electricity. The Government has also approved an unprecedented investment of €18.9 billion in Grid for the period 2026 – 2030 which is fundamental to the electrification of homes, businesses and transport. The 2025 ZEVI target for electrical vehicle sales of 195,000 was surpassed in October 2025 and there are now over 227,000 EVs on Irish roads as of end March 2026. I have also recently announced an unprecedented package of new and enhanced grants for homeowners across the country who are looking to benefit from home energy upgrades under the National Residential Retrofit Plan.

These ongoing efforts are supported by Climate Action Plan 2025, in tandem with its predecessor, Climate Action Plan 2024, which contain a comprehensive programme of climate action and provide a strong framework for continued delivery across all sectors, given that many of the measures and actions in these plans are multi-annual in nature and effect. Work remains ongoing across Government Departments to deliver on these commitments and carry out climate action efforts every day, supported by recently enhanced governance and delivery arrangements.

In line with the Programme for Government commitment, enhanced implementation governance structures to support accelerated climate action delivery have been put in place in 2025 to streamline structures and ensure that key strategic projects are supported. The latest projections show that what we are doing is working and improving our reductions all the time, but we do need to do more.

Work is currently underway on the next Climate Action Plan. The next plan will build on the measures in the previous plans and be a more targeted, implementation-focussed plan that provides a basis for our new governance structures to accelerate the delivery of our highest impact measures. In that regard, my Department is working towards bringing a draft of the new Climate Action Plan to Government later this year.

In formulating the next plan, Government must carefully consider a wide range of factors to ensure the approach is ambitious, feasible, and sustainable. It is vital that our climate policies and emissions reduction pathways deliver the best possible value for money while maximising the net benefits to society. We must protect the long-term competitiveness of the economy, maintain the State’s attractiveness for investment, and maximise employment opportunities while ensuring a just transition that supports communities right across the country.