The Green Party welcomed the announcement as the Government published details of the €1 billion National Recovery and Resilience Plan.
Brian Leddin TD and Green Party Spokesperson for Transport, Climate Action and Environment stated: "This allocation represents over 52% of the overall €1 billion budget in the plan. This reflects the Government’s commitment to making climate action a priority in order to secure a better future for our country, providing secure employment in both rural and urban areas and protecting our environment."
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Some of the projects include:
• A loan guarantee system that will allow for the low-cost retrofitting of homes.
• Investment in Cork commuter rail, providing significant capacity increases on the Cork Area Commuter Rail network as well as investment to allow for the future electrification of the service.
• Provision of supports for Irish SMEs and exporters to address their emissions, and by investing in carbon measurement and abatement technologies for manufacturing companies.
• A €20 million River Basin Management Plan to upgrade a minimum of 10 waste water treatment plants not currently scheduled for upgrade.
• A Public Sector Retrofit Pathfinder Project to undertake the deep retrofit of public office accommodation.
The plan also has a strong focus on return to work and training with €181m investment to address the challenges of the future with particular focus on the green economy. The SOLAS Green Skills Action programme will provide training to address climate and low carbon economy issues, while a work placement programme and the expansion of Technological Universities will develop expertise and provide opportunities in Ireland's future green economy.
