2026-04-16

90. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the amount of carbon emitted in the State in each of the past ten years. [26603/26]

This Government has signed Ireland up to a number of binding carbon targets which carry enormous fines for the taxpayers of this country. Will the Minister and Ministers of State provide an update on where Ireland stands with regard to those targets and on the potential fines that this State will face in 2030?

The Government is committed to delivering on Ireland's responsibility to address the climate crisis. Work remains ongoing across Departments to carry out climate mitigation efforts every day. The roll-out of retrofitting, renewable energy and more affordable electric vehicles, EVs, continues at pace. Ireland now has the lowest level of greenhouse gas emissions in over 35 years, despite a population increase of more than 1.5 million, an additional 1 million new homes and 1 million extra vehicles on our roads. The Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, compiles Ireland's national greenhouse gas emissions inventories. As the data requested by the Deputy covers a ten-year period, and given time constraints, I will provide him with a tabular statement setting out the exact emissions data for each year, as requested, and confine myself now to highlighting the most significant trends from the data. The year 2024 marks the second successive year that our national emissions have fallen below the 1990 baseline. The 2024 figures follow a substantial 4 Mt CO2 equivalent reduction in 2023, the largest annual reduction since 2010 to 2011. This demonstrates that our climate policies are taking effect. The delivery mechanisms underpinning these emissions reductions include a fivefold increase in renewable capacity since 2005 and a rapid uptake in EVs and retrofits. Furthermore, the Government has approved an investment of €18.9 billion in our electricity grid which underpins our continued roll out of clean energy.

It is really important that the Government understands that the targets Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have signed the Irish taxpayer up to carry with them significant fines. According to the Climate Change Advisory Council, CCAC, and the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council, IFAC, the fines involved range from €3 billion to €28 billion. The Minister of State has responsibility for this. I am asking him about the fines. What are the factors that will determine whether we face fines of €3 billion or €28 billion? The Government is accountable for this. It signed the Irish taxpayer up to these incredible fines. Where are we in relation to this? What are we likely to pay in fines? What cost-benefit analysis has been done? What are the Department's current projections in relation to these fines?

As I said earlier, we are making significant progress and we need to continue that pace and ensure that we have full delivery of all planned measures in regard to our legally binding targets. That is exactly what we are intending to do. Let us be clear, we have the policies and the necessary funding in place and the governance is being strengthened. The Government has continued to remove blockages and accelerate projects. We have focused on the -impact actions. We have a climate action plan that is more focused, covering the carbon budget period. We will also have implementation oversight. We want to ensure that we continue to upgrade homes, bring more renewable generation on stream and have cleaner transport. That is our focus and that is responsible government. That is what we are trying to achieve together, and it is making a significant impact.

A responsible Government would be able to answer basic questions on the fines that we are going to face and that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael signed us up to. The Minister of State mentioned significant progress and stated that policies are in place. Policies should have been in place before the Government signed us up to these measures. We have been laggards in relation to this. In fact, when the Government signed us up to these targets in 2023, it accepted an increased target of 42%, when Ireland was already missing its original target of 30%. What was the basis for that decision? The Minister of State talks about responsibility. I am asking him basic questions. Can he outline the level of fines we will face? Is it going to be on the lower end, at €3 billion, or the higher end, at €26 billion? What are the factors that will determine that? What are the policies that the Government is implementing today? I ask the Minister of State to give an update in relation to this.

Just to address the rhetoric and some of the-----

No, the fines-----

----- issues that the Deputy is raising.

Not the rhetoric, the fines.

Sit down.

Answer the question.

Allow the Minister of State to answer it.

Relax.

Go ahead, Minister.

We are trying to have a civil conversation on oral parliamentary questions. As I said earlier, we have reduced our CO2 emissions below 1990 baseline figures for the second consecutive year, and we are making significant progress on expanding home retrofits and bringing more renewable energy on stream. The best response we have made in recent years is that our emissions are falling. That is the reality. Our investment is unprecedented, and we want to do even more. Our policies are being implemented across all sectors, including energy, homes, transport and land use. Most importantly, in the here and now, we have not paid 1 cent in EU fines, absolutely not. Not €1 has been diverted away from public services. No cheques have been written by the Government in that regard. That is because we have chosen to act, not to delay or deny.

What about IFAC, the climate advisory council and the €26 billion? Has the Minister of State no idea? Come on.

We will not dismantle our climate policy. We have continued-----

The Minister of State should conclude.

Those warnings were calls for compliance. Check out the facts. They are the facts.

The Minister should address his remarks through the Chair. With the permission of the Members, we will go back to Priority Question No. 87 in the name of Deputy Byrne. He has brought a note and has apologised for being late.