€1.3 billion has been ringfenced from carbon tax receipts to support the national retrofit ambition out to 2025, with additional funds to be announced through the budgetary process each year.
Minister Eamon Ryan has welcomed the €12.9 billion that has been allocated to the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications in the National Development Plan (NDP) 2021-2030 review.
The new €165 billion NDP was launched by government yesterday (Monday, October 4).
Minister Ryan has noted that “most significantly, €5 billion in additional carbon tax receipts over the period of the NDP have been allocated to increase capital investment levels in energy efficiency”.
Retrofitting 500,000 homes
€1.3 billion has been ringfenced from carbon tax receipts to support, at a minimum, the national retrofit ambition out to 2025, with additional funds to be announced through the budgetary process each year, the minister said.
This “unprecedented” funding for energy efficiency will “support the government’s target of retrofitting 500,000 homes to a Building Energy Rating of B2 and the installation of 600,000 heat pumps, of which 400,000 will be in existing homes by 2030”.
“This investment will support significant numbers of free energy upgrades for low-income households and those at risk from energy poverty over the coming years,” Minister Ryan said.
“It will be complemented by the government’s ‘Housing for All’, which commits to the retrofitting of 36,500 local authority houses by 2030.
“These measures will benefit society as a whole, as we reduce our national emissions.
“This investment will also boost employment in communities across the country. We will see this in the recovery and resilience of our supply chains – among contractors, tradespeople and businesses.
“For individuals, the benefits of these energy upgrades include warmer, cosier homes with lower bills.”
Renewable energy goal
“Over the next 10 years, we will increase the share of renewable electricity generation up to 80%, reducing greenhouse gas emissions right across the economy,” the minister continued.
“Offshore renewable energy is the biggest economic opportunity that our state has ever seen, because we have one of the best renewable energy resources in the world.
“Our regular RESS onshore auctions will deliver competitive levels of up to 8GW of onshore wind and up to 2.5GW of solar electricity generation by 2030.”
Also, the minister noted that €2.7 billion is to be invested in bringing “high-speed broadband to every home, school and business in Ireland, no matter how remote” through the National Broadband Plan.