January 9, 2025 View all news Climate Campaigners Slam Suggested Move of Energy Portfolio to Department of Enterprise Friends of the Earth has expressed serious concern in response to media reports that the Government formation talks between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael are actively considering “aligning energy to another government department” [1] or “tacking energy onto the Department of Enterprise …in terms of attracting investment into the country” [2] [3]Responding to these reports, Jerry Mac Evilly, Head of Policy in Friends of the Earth said:“Moving the energy portfolio to the Department of Enterprise (DETE) risks fundamentally undermining the new Government’s climate credentials, including the renewables development promised by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. Ramping up renewables and energy efficiency constitute major economic opportunities for businesses and communities. However, parties must be clear - the purpose of the state’s energy transformation is not to provide future power exports or to reserve future renewable developments for particular industries. It is to respond to societal, environmental and economic needs right now.” “The fundamental objective is to deliver a safe and sustainable zero-carbon energy system in accordance with carbon budgets that will enhance energy security, reduce costs and increase competitiveness by reducing reliance on expensive, dirty fossil fuels. There’s a significant concern that a move to DETE would ignore this objective and entail a narrow-minded focus on foreign direct investment.”“Government must also be alive to the risk evident right now with colossal data centre proliferation that far from supporting decarbonisation and system security, they are actively undermining it by increasing demand and locking in fossil gas use. Ireland has become a poster-child globally not of considered long-term planning but of unchecked unsustainable expansion and weak regulation. ”“Public buy-in must also be at the forefront of negotiators' concerns. If renewables development is misrepresented or misinterpreted as being simply for the purposes of data centre demand or future export, it risks undermining public support for new infrastructure and investment at the very time when it is needed most. “Last but not least, any changes to the energy portfolio must not involve significant transfers of civil servants or existing structures or resources from the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications to another Department. Such moves would accomplish little and result in lengthy delays and inefficiencies. When it comes to climate and decarbonisation, the new Government should rather be focused on investing in, and developing, the expertise and resources of relevant Departments.”Notes[1] https://www.rte.ie/news/politics/2025/0108/1489588-programme-for-government/[2] https://www.thejournal.ie/government-formation-department-carve-up-6588229-Jan2025/[3] https://www.businesspost.ie/politics/pair-trade-with-foreign-affairs-move-energy-to-enterprise-formation-talks-move-to-key-departments Categorised in: Friends of the Earth Climate Change Energy Policy Resources Tagged with: climate Energy Faster and Fairer Climate Action Fossil Free Our Energy Future System Change