The announced investment in climate transition and water infrastructure in Budget 2025 has been welcomed by the Environmental Pillar, Ireland’s environmental NGO advocacy coalition.
However, the pillar has added that the government has missed an opportunity to make sustainable shifts in tax and welfare policy, opting instead for one-off measures which it argues will not lead to lasting change.
Policy and advocacy manager at the Environmental Pillar, Dr. Aoife Ní Lochlainn said: “We are at a crucial time in relation to the climate, nature and biodiversity emergencies in Ireland.
“To meet our climate and nature obligations, sustained increases in investment will be needed. While we welcome the new funding for water and energy projects, we will also be looking closely at how the Climate and Nature Fund will operate.
“It is vital that funding for nature restoration is ring-fenced and that the fund does not become a free-for-all for future ministers; it must be targeted at projects that are additional and work for both climate and nature.”
Meanwhile, Dr. Elaine McGoff, Environmental Pillar spokesperson and head of advocacy with An Taisce said: “The allocation of €1 billion in water infrastructure in Budget 2025 is vital to upgrade our national water network to provide clean drinking water, adequate wastewater treatment and protect the biodiversity of our waterways.
“We have had a number of instances of fish kills as a result of discharges and it is critical that Uisce Éireann ensures that adequate systems and processes are in place to prevent any such events recurring.”
The Environmental Pillar has also welcomed the €750 million allocated to investment in the electricity grid to harness the full potential of renewables and increased funding for ‘Warmer Homes’.
However it believes that the untargeted universal energy credit is “regrettable both from an environmental and equality perspective”.
Oisín Coghlan, Environmental Pillar spokesperson and director of Friends of the Earth Ireland said: “The Environmental Pillar has long campaigned for zero-carbon heating solutions, such as district heat, retrofitting, and heat pumps.
“So measures such as cutting VAT to 9% on heat pumps and funding of €470 million for retrofitting to deliver warmer homes, lower emissions, cleaner air and cheaper fuel bills will help,” he said.
“However, while these measures make sense from a climate perspective, the energy credit undermines efforts towards long-term sustainability and directs gains to those who do not need them, rather than making lasting inroads into reducing energy poverty.”
“In addition, the government has missed an opportunity to create a truly environmentally sustainable taxation system in their final budget.
“There is still no pathway for removing fossil fuel subsidies from our tax system and despite recent outcry over the private jets of pop stars, no thought given to how the aviation industry should contribute to Ireland’s climate goals,” he added.
The Environmental Pillar has said that tackling fossil fuel subsidies will make the taxation system fairer and more environmentally sustainable, adding that Just Transition requires both the “carrot and the stick”.
On transport, Mairéad Forsythe, Environmental Pillar spokesperson and Irish Cycling Campaign’s national coordinator said: “The announcement of continued investment in cycling and walking infrastructure, further expansion of bus routes in rural and urban Ireland as well as the maintenance of temporary fare initiatives will assist in promoting the use of public transport and active travel which will lead to a better quality of life and reduced emissions.”
Dr. Oliver Moore, Environmental Pillar spokesperson, who works on European agri-food and rural policy with the ARC2020, added: “The allocation of €716 million for farmers taking part in agri-environmental schemes such as ACRES [Agri Climate Rural Environment Scheme] for supporting sustainable food and farming and protecting biodiversity was another important measure.
“However, there are serious issues with how the scheme is run, such as the efficiency of the IT system. Solving administrative difficulties for applicants must be prioritised.
“We are at a crucial time in relation to the nature and biodiversity crisis in Ireland. This makes the €15 million increase for the National Parks and Wildlife Service [NPWS] extremely disappointing. Serious investment in the staffing and resources is needed to halt biodiversity loss and restore nature.”