Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 20 September 2023
245. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the supports his Department has in place to assist businesses in decarbonisation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40661/23]
View answerMy Department is actively pursuing all opportunities for decarbonisation across the enterprise base and integrating climate action into all aspects of the Department and its agencies’ activities.
As part of Ireland’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan, the Green Transition Fund (GTF) will accelerate the decarbonisation of Irish enterprise. Launched by my Department in June 2022 and administered by Enterprise Ireland (EI), the GTF comprises two separate streams of funding to support the different aspects of the decarbonisation journey for Irish enterprises.
The first stream ‘Climate Planning Fund for Business’ (CPFB) is aimed at building company capability to develop plans for lower-carbon products, processes, and business models. It comprises a range of offers to reflect the different levels of engagement and preparedness of companies. Grant offers include the following:
Climate Action Voucher which is an €1,800 consultancy support to develop an initial decarbonisation action plan.
GreenStart covers a consultancy grant to help companies to introduce environmental best practice systems and structures, achieve cost and resource reduction targets and lay a foundation for future environmental improvement projects with a maximum grant of €5,000.
GreenPlus is assistance for training projects aimed at developing a high level of environmental management capability, driving environmental efficiencies and achieving improved sustainability with a maximum grant of €50,000.
Strategic Consultancy grant assists large energy users develop a carbon reduction roadmap and includes maximum grant of €35,000.
The second stream ‘Enterprise Emissions Reduction Investment Fund’ (EERIF) supports capital investment and Research, Development & Innovation in decarbonisation.
The EERIF is targeted at companies of different sizes and stages of engagement in their decarbonisation journey to put in place energy monitoring systems, thereby establishing the carbon footprint of their enterprise; to make investments in decarbonising their manufacturing processes; and to support Research, Development and Innovation in low carbon products and processes. It includes the following component parts:
Capital investment for Energy Monitoring & Tracking Systems which assists companies to put in place monitoring and targeting systems to begin accounting for the carbon footprint of their activities and includes a maximum grant of €50,000.
Capital investment for decarbonisation processes - assisting investment in carbon reducing technologies in manufacturing combustion processes to include a maximum grant of up to €1,000,000.
Exploring Innovation Grant to help in the planning of research, development or innovation projects in the areas of sustainability and decarbonisation with maximum support of €35,000.
Research & Development funding to assist the development of new or substantially improved products, services or processes, in the areas of sustainability and decarbonisation with variable associated grants.
Agile Innovation grant to assist businesses in the development of new or substantially improved products, services or processes, in the areas of sustainability and decarbonisation with maximum support of €150,000.
To date, there have been 194 company approvals to the value of €7,176,787 under the two streams of the Green Transition Fund.
The Local Enterprise Offices also offer supports to assist businesses decarbonisation efforts. Green for Business was launched in August 2023, to supersede Green for Micro. The eligibility criteria have been adjusted to support all businesses with up to 50 employees, to align with the capital Energy Efficiency Grant. A company may also avail of a second Green for Business assignment where warranted. To August 2023, there were 314 Green for Micro projects approved. There are 54 draft applications for the newly renamed Green for Business.
To support the implementation of green projects, the Energy Efficiency Grant was launched in May 2023. It supports the investment in technologies and equipment identified in a Green for Micro, Green for Business; GreenStart or a SEAI Energy Audit. The aim of the scheme is to reduce the impact of enterprises on the environment thereby increasing the agility and resilience of these businesses. The grant will cover 50% of eligible costs up to a maximum of €5,000.
