Statutory Instrument (S.I.) No. 426 of 2014 (European Union (Energy Efficiency) Regulations, 2014), transposed the EU Energy Efficiency Directive (2012/27/EU). The key objective of the Directive is to achieve energy efficiency gains for the EU of 20% by 2020. The S.I. sets out the legal basis for measures required to ensure Ireland will improve its energy efficiency by 2020. Ireland, like the EU as a whole, aims to achieve a 20% target for energy efficiency from these measures.
The European Commission has recently asked Ireland to provide some additional information regarding the transposition of the Directive. In this context, I expect to present secondary legislation later this year. I do not envisage that any substantive changes will be introduced. Rather, I will provide the necessary clarifications to the existing legislation sought by the European Commission.