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Minister Ryan delivers record €1.159 billion investment in Budget 2024 to support families, communities, and a net-zero future

  • highest-ever Budget allocation for the department demonstrates the government’s commitment to achieving a climate neutral, sustainable and digitally-connected Ireland
  • three €150 energy credits giving over two million households €450 towards energy bills this winter
  • record funding for retrofitting and solar PV
  • €348 million for the National Broadband Plan; high-speed broadband will be available to half of all houses in rural Ireland by the end of 2024

Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan, has secured €1.159 billion in Budget 2024 to support families and communities with energy costs while continuing the drive towards a low-carbon, digitally-connected future.

Electricity Credits

Three Electricity Credits of €150 will be applied to domestic electricity bills; one before Christmas and one each in the January/February and March/April billing cycles. The total value of this measure is just over €1 billion, and will be part-funded by the €167 million raised thus far from the measures introduced to address the windfall profits of some fossil fuel companies and electricity generators.

Home energy upgrades — retrofitting and solar PV

Budget 2024 also includes record funding of €380 million for SEAI residential and community energy upgrades, including the Solar PV (photovoltaic) Scheme — this is a €24 million increase on last year and means that more funding than ever will be available to make homes warmer, healthier, more comfortable and less expensive to heat. This will be supplemented by additional funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) to support next year’s programme of energy upgrades for households at risk of energy poverty. The government’s decision in May of this year to apply a 0% VAT rate boosted the installation of domestic solar panels across the country, with over 21,000 households expected to receive support in 2023.

National Broadband Plan

Bolstering Ireland’s digital connectivity into the future, €348 million has been prioritised in Budget 2024 to continue the rapid rollout of the National Broadband Plan, delivering high-speed broadband services to an additional 100,000 homes and businesses in Ireland next year. This represents a €136 million/64% increase on last year.

Just Transition

This government is committed to ensuring that no sector of society or community is left behind in the movement to a low-carbon future. For this reason, €45 million has been secured to ensure a Just Transition in the Midlands counties most affected by the ending of peat extraction.

Commenting on Budget 2024, the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan, said:

"The government is conscious that people are still facing higher energy bills than before the invasion of Ukraine, even with recent reductions by the power companies. That’s why I am glad that our department can provide for three Electricity Credits again this year, which, along with a suite of targeted social welfare measures, can help ensure that households, and particularly those who need help most, can be supported to help meet their bills over the coming winter. The message this year is the same as last; nobody should go without heat or light this winter. There are supports available and we urge people to stay warm and well and continue to engage with their energy companies.

"I also welcome the ongoing and increased funding for the rollout of the most ambitious home retrofitting plan in Europe. On current performance it is expected that we will exceed this year’s target to support 37,000 home energy upgrades. With significant additional funding we can expect to continue the trajectory upwards into next year with a continued focus on households at risk of energy poverty. In the first half of 2023, the installation of solar panels was up a massive 231% on last year following the government’s move to cut VAT. Budget 2024 will continue to drive the solar rooftop revolution."

Minister of State with responsibility for Communications and Circular Economy, Ossian Smyth, said:

"I welcome the significant increase in funding in Budget 2024 for the National Broadband Plan, which will bring the digital transition to every corner of Ireland. We are seeing a much higher take up than we had originally forecast, and almost 200,000 households and businesses now have access to full fibre broadband. With the additional funding in this Budget, full fibre broadband will be available to over half of rural homes by the end of next year.

"In addition, almost €110 million is being invested in programmes to continue the transition to a circular economy, and I look forward to the introduction of a new Deposit Return Scheme for aluminium cans and plastic bottles next February."

Notes

The Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications has been allocated €1.159 billion in Budget 2024.

Key Budget 2024 allocations include the following.

Energy transformation, including retrofitting: €492.4 million

  • €380 million for SEAI residential and community energy upgrade schemes, including the Solar PV Scheme, to continue to build momentum in the delivery of the National Retrofit Plan. This allocation is fully funded from Carbon Tax revenue
  • the Budget 2024 allowance will support the expansion of a range of schemes, including the Warmer Homes Scheme, which provides free energy efficiency upgrades to households in, or at risk of, energy poverty
  • this money will also support the Solar PV Scheme, which provides enduring solutions in respect of energy security, affordability and sustainability. These applicants can also avail of the Clean Export Guarantee (CEG) tariff to receive payments for excess renewable electricity they export to the grid
  • building capacity across the department and State agencies will support the development of 17GW of onshore wind and solar electricity generation, and 5GW of offshore wind, by 2030

Climate action and environment leadership: €149.7 million

  • this funding will ensure that we can deliver on our climate action commitments. Climate research and the development of new technologies will be central to meeting our targets of a 51% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and net zero emissions by 2050
  • building capacity across the department and its agencies will also underpin implementation of the Sectoral Emissions Ceilings
  • €45 million for projects that are approved for EU and national Just Transition funds across the wider Midlands region, including east Galway, Kildare, Laois, Longford, north Tipperary, Offaly, Roscommon and Westmeath. This funding will support delivery of Ireland’s €169 million EU Just Transition Programme
  • €26.5 million as part of our ambition to double Ireland’s funding for developing countries to tackle climate change by 2025

Protecting our environment and growing the circular economy: €109.4 million

  • additional resourcing for the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) to support the delivery of, for example, their critical licencing and enforcement functions
  • the ongoing rollout of the Circular Economy Strategy, supported by the EPA, and the introduction of a new Deposit Return Scheme for aluminium cans and plastic bottles in February 2024. A parallel scheme for the provision of free public water drinking fountains in all Local Authority areas will also be progressed in 2024
  • the conservation and protection of aquatic species through Inland Fisheries Ireland, including the acquisition of unique salmonid fisheries
  • a wide range of environmental protection and awareness measures, including through waste management initiatives and enforcement activities by Local Authorities
  • investment to support the role of raw materials in the transition to a circular economy
  • €20 million to remediate former landfill sites

Delivering world-class connectivity and communications: €407.7 million

  • €348 million will progress the rollout of the high-speed broadband network next year under the National Broadband Plan. Fibre broadband will be made available to ('pass') an additional 100,000 premises in 2024
  • €10.7 million investment in the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) in 2024