122. Deputy Réada Cronin asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the corrective measures being taken in his Department to ensure our compliance with the second carbon budget, given that Ireland exceeded its sectoral emission ceiling by 0.4MtCO2eq in the first carbon budget; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54237/26]

This Government is committed to delivering on Ireland’s responsibility to address the climate crisis and work remains ongoing across Government to implement climate mitigation measures every day. We have a robust climate delivery framework and detailed plans in place across all sectors. My priority is driving implementation, particularly of high impact measures with multiple societal and economic benefits.

The EPA’s most recent provisional emissions inventory report, published just last week, confirms record progress. Ireland has recorded overall greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions for a fourth consecutive year, with a decrease of 2.2% in 2025 following decreases of 2% in 2024, 6.8% in 2023 and 1.9% in 2022.

Significantly, this provisional greenhouse gas emissions inventory for 2025 shows that Ireland continues its progress towards its ambitious emissions reduction targets, and it shows that the first carbon budget has now been achieved on the back of these record emissions reductions.

While EPA's earlier projections report in May of this year, referred to by the Deputy, had projected an exceedance of 0.4 Mt CO2eq for the first carbon budget under the With Existing Measures scenario, the latest provisional inventory now shows that Ireland's total emissions for the first budget amounted to 293.9 Mt CO2eq, leaving 1.1 Mt CO2eq to spare.

Ireland now has the lowest level of GHG emissions in 36 years which is notable given a concurrent  population increase of approximately 1.5 million people, more than one million new homes and over one million extra vehicles on our roads. Given the strong economic growth over this period, we can see a clear decoupling of growth from emissions which is a key milestone in Ireland's transition to climate neutrality.

All main sectors saw reductions in 2025. Emissions from energy industries decreased for the fourth consecutive year by 7.1% in 2025, to an all-time low as investment in renewables continues to reduce emissions. In other sectors, buildings emissions were down 4.7%, industry sector emissions were down 3.3%, transport emissions down 1.5% and agriculture down 0.2%.

We are making significant strides toward our target of 80% renewable energy by 2030. We now have 8GW onshore renewable electricity generation. Regularly throughout the first half of 2026 almost half of Ireland’s electricity demand came from renewable sources. The recent ORESS Tonn Nua offshore wind auction will secure enough clean electricity to power 1,000,000 homes, and we have five Phase One developments progressing through planning this year.

To support this transition, the Government has approved an unprecedented investment of €18.9 billion in the Grid for the period 2026 – 2030. This represents the largest ever investment in our electricity grid, delivering major upgrades and developments to allow for the greater electrification of homes, businesses, and transport.

There are now over 240,000 EVs on Irish roads and, earlier this month, I launched the ICE2EV Scheme which will further accelerate the transition from older, more polluting cars to electric vehicles through targeted financial supports, supported under the Climate Action Fund.

In January this year I announced the updated National Residential Retrofit Plan which includes new and enhanced measures to make retrofitting supports more accessible to households. In Budget 2026, Government provided a record allocation of €640 million, and with this we are targeting 73,000 home energy upgrades this year.

Last week I secured Government approval for revisions to the General Scheme of the Heat (Networks and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024. This legislation will accelerate the deployment of district heating, strengthen consumer protections and boost Ireland's energy security.

The National Designated Maritime Area Plan for Offshore Renewable Energy (National DMAP for ORE), which I announced in 2025, will deliver a strategic long-term plan for ORE development, supporting significant long-term abatement in our electricity sector. The National DMAP for ORE is on track to be completed by Q4 2027.  Last week, Government also approved the publication of the Marine Planning Policy Statement and proposals for the Maritime Area Planning (Marine Protected Areas) (Amendment) Bill 2026, the latter of which will provide a legislative basis for the designation and effective management of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in Irish waters.

The Climate Action Delivery Board (CADB), which I chair, and the Climate Action Plan Programme Board (CAPPB) are also now providing oversight of the delivery of our highest impact measures and driving the development of the next Climate Action Plan, which is currently in development and will be published later this year.  This Plan will be a more focussed and targeted Plan and will set out my intentions for more action in the coming months and years.