Commission endorses Ireland's revised recovery and resilience plan, and preliminarily endorses its first payment request of €324 million

The Commission has simultaneously endorsed a positive preliminary assessment of Ireland's first payment request for €324 million under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF).

Positive preliminary assessment of Ireland's first payment request for €324 million

Ireland had also introduced a first payment request for €324 million under the RRF in September 2023. Today, the Commission has preliminarily concluded that Ireland has satisfactorily completed the 40 milestones and targets set out  for the first instalment.The payment request covers important steps in the delivery of nine reforms and ten investments that will drive positive change for citizens and businesses in Ireland in the areas of energy efficiency of public buildings, sustainable transport, rehabilitation of peatlands, carbon taxation, supporting digitalisation in schools and business, skills (including green and digital skills), healthcare and anti-money laundering.

Flagship measures in this payment request include:

• A reform to help decarbonise the economy: Ireland has amended its carbon tax to disincentivise the use of fossil fuels and encourage the use of renewable energy by industry and society. This is a key policy lever which contributes to Ireland meeting its targets under the European Green Deal.
• An investment to support upskilling and reskilling of workers: To mitigate skills shortages, this payment covers educational and training programmes in the areas of green, digital and future-proof skills. A special focus is put on Near Zero-Energy Buildings and retrofitting, so that more workers learn the skills to carry out energy efficiency renovations, helping citizens and business reduce their energy consumption and bills. This investment will also help Ireland make its contribution to the  and  targets.

The Commission has now sent its preliminary assessment of Ireland's fulfilment of the milestones and targets required for this payment to the Economic and Financial Committee (EFC), which has four weeks to deliver its opinion. The payment to Ireland can take place following the EFC's opinion, and the adoption of a payment decision by the Commission.

The payment of this first request will bring the funds paid out to Ireland under the RRF to €324 million. This corresponds to 28% of all the funds in the revised Irish plan, with 34% of all the milestones and targets fulfilled.

A modified recovery and resilience plan

The newly added REPowerEU chapter consists of  one reform and five investments. It aims to deliver on the REPowerEU Plan's objectives to make Europe independent of Russian fossil fuels well before 2030 and increase the deployment of renewable energy.

Ireland has further requested to amend the RRP. These changes are based on the need to factor in objective circumstances hindering the fulfilment of certain measures as originally planned, such as the identification of manifestly better alternatives and the stronger than anticipated post-pandemic recovery of the labour market.

The modified plan has a strong focus on the green transition, allocating 50.2% of funds to support climate objectives. With six new measures on climate action it brings the total climate contribution to €580 million (up from €384 million).

The newly added reform in the REPowerEU chapter aims at facilitating the deployment of offshore wind energy. The five new investments in the chapter focus on increasing the production capacity of renewable biomethane, the provision of sustainable public transport through charging infrastructure for railway assets between Dublin City Centre and Drogheda, and energy efficiency of public buildings such as hospitals and schools.

The modified RRP reiterates Ireland's commitment to reinforcing its digital and social dimensions. 34.2% of the total allocation is dedicated to driving the digital transition. It includes investments for the development of digital skills and digital literacy, the provision of modern ICT equipment for vulnerable students, the establishment of European Digital Innovation Hubs, and research and development endeavors. These investments not only bolster the digital transition but also stimulate economic growth and enhance competitiveness in the digital sector.

It also includes initiatives aimed at addressing social challenges, such as improving access to affordable housing, attracting foreign talent, and elevating health standards

To finance the increased ambition of its plan, Ireland has requested to transfer to the plan a share of the Brexit Adjustment Reserve (BAR) amounting to €150 million. These funds, added to Ireland's RRF and REPowerEU grants allocation (amounting to €914 million and €89 million respectively), make the approved overall modified plan now worth €1.15 billion.

The Council now has four weeks to endorse the Commission's assessment.

For More Information  

Ireland's Recovery and Resilience Plan website

Recovery and Resilience Facility: Questions and Answers  

REPowerEU chapters and revision of recovery plans

Recovery and Resilience Facility Regulation 

Recovery and Resilience Facility website