Ireland’s recovery and resilience plan

RRF FUNDED PROJECTS IN IRELAND

WHAT’S IN THE PLAN?

The reforms and investment in Ireland’s plan approved by Council on 8 September 2021, as amended on 14 July 2023, are helping it become more sustainable, resilient and better prepared for the challenges and opportunities offered by the green and digital transitions.

^{*This value includes also the part of the plan which is financed with national resources}

• 14 investment streams and 9 reforms
• 42% of the plan will support climate objectives 
• 34.2% of the plan will foster the digital transition.    

The transformative impact of Ireland’s plan is the result of a combination of reforms and investment which address the country’s specific challenges. The reforms address bottlenecks to lasting and sustainable growth by tackling some long-standing structural challenges facing the Irish economy. Investments are targeted towards the green and digital transition. Firstly, key green investments relate to energy efficiency and renewable energy investments in private and public buildings, sustainable mobility with an important project in the area of Cork, smart and sustainable water management, and protecting biodiversity through the rehabilitation of peatlands. Secondly, key digital investments relate to the digital transformation of Irish enterprises, the digitalisation of public administration services, the funding for connectivity and ICT devices to schools, and the development of a shared Government data centre. 

All measures have to be implemented within a tight time frame, as the Regulation establishing the Recovery and Resilience Facility requires all milestones and targets within the national plans to be completed by August 2026.

In the area of climate and environmental policies, Ireland faces several challenges. First, achieving the 2030 climate and energy targets will be a major challenge despite a strengthened legislative framework for climate action linked to ambitious mitigation targets and the climate action plan 2023.  Second, Ireland needs to considerably speed up the deployment of renewables, in particular onshore and offshore wind, to reach the 80% renewable electricity target by 2030. Finally, despite the rapid expansion in the use of renewable electricity, Ireland needs to further reduce the reliance on fossil fuels to ensure security of supply and contribute to climate change mitigation.

Key measures for the green transition

• The plan supports the green transition through investments of:
  • €164 million in the electrification and upgrade of Cork commuter rail that will encourage a shift from private cars to rail transport.
  • €115 million in energy efficiency in residential and public buildings, assisting households, businesses and the public sector to implement energy efficiency investments and green technology solutions to reduce carbon emissions businesses.
  • €108 million to support biodiversity and ecosystems, through the restoration and rehabilitation of wetlands to change land use from peat extraction to carbon sequestration.  
• The Irish plan also includes reforms related to climate change. For instance, Ireland will implement a reform of the climate governance framework and enshrine climate neutrality by 2050 into law. Secondly, Ireland is also implementing a Carbon tax legislation.

Digital challenges for Ireland include the roll-out of digital technologies in businesses, in particular for Irish small and medium-sized enterprises seeking to adopt other e-business technologies such as supply chain management, enterprise resource planning, customer relationship management, and radio frequency identification. Another challenge relates to human capital. Further efforts to improve digital skills are important as a relatively low percentage of the population has at least basic digital skills.

Key measures for the digital transition

• Ireland’s recovery and resilience plan supports the digital transition with investments and reforms in the digitalisation of the public sector, notably by building an energy-efficient government data centre and through the support to a range of measures to digitalise the public administration, in particular the healthcare system (€142 million).

• The plan also supports the digitalisation of businesses, mainly of small and medium-sized enterprises in Ireland (€85 million).

• The Irish plan promotes digital skills by providing connectivity and information and communications technology (ICT) equipment to disadvantaged learners in schools (€64 million), as well as by supporting the development of digital skills in Irish education at all levels.

Key macro-economic challenges for the Irish economy include regional disparities in economic performance, labour market challenges for disadvantaged groups, skill shortages in several fields, relatively low interrelated levels of investment and productivity growth by domestic firms compared to multinational firms, shortages in affordable and social housing, and risks to the anti-money laundering framework due to Ireland’s internationally oriented economy and complex legal structures.

Key measures in reinforcing economic and social resilience

• The plan reinforces economic and social resilience with €114 million to support the reskilling and upskilling of workers with a strong focus on green, digital and future-proof skills.
• The plan also includes €40 million to support quality higher education by fostering the development of new education and training programmes in technological universities and enabling the development of regional innovation hubs.
• The plan reinforces efforts to increase the supply of social and affordable housing and supports the fight against money laundering by strengthening the supervision and enforcement of the anti-money laundering framework.

Ireland’s plan is consistent with relevant country-specific challenges and priorities identified in the European Semester, the annual cycle of coordination and surveillance of the EU’s economic policies. For a detailed explanation of the European Semester see the following link: The European Semester explained | European Commission (europa.eu)

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