Cutting the grant for residential solar panels from January will completely undermine the Government’s Climate Action Plan, according to Social Democrats TD Jennifer Whitmore.
Deputy Whitmore, who is the party’s spokesperson on climate and biodiversity, said:
“This week, the Taoiseach is attending COP28 in Dubai where he has talked about Ireland’s need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and scale-up climate adaptation. At the same time, it has emerged today that grants for residential solar panels are to be slashed by €300 by the Department of the Environment from the start of next year.
“With the world already in the grip of a climate change disaster, the shift to renewable energy sources cannot come quick enough. Minister Eamon Ryan has previously described the potential of solar power as “a rooftop revolution”, but these words seem meaningless in the context of today’s announcement.
“There are hundreds of thousands of homes around the country suitable for the installation of solar panels. Not only would this help reduce our dependency on fossil fuel, it could also result in savings of up to 40 per cent on household energy bills.
“We should not lose sight of the fact that Ireland is struggling to achieve a 51 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.
“The Government’s plan to proceed with cuts to the grant for residential solar panels is simply baffling and represents a retrograde step for our climate ambitions.”
December 1, 2023