EU Recommendation on Ireland's economic, social and climate policies

The European Commission has issued a Recommendation for a Council Recommendation on Ireland’s economic, social, employment, structural and budgetary policies, addressed to the Council of the European Union and setting actions for 2026-2027.

• Main action: The Commission recommends that Ireland take action in 2026 and 2027 to, inter alia, ensure continuity of RRF reforms and cohesion policy implementation, increase public and business R&D investment, reduce fossil fuel reliance and accelerate renewables deployment, modernise and expand grid infrastructure, and increase affordable and social housing supply. The Recommendation references Ireland’s national medium-term fiscal-structural plan (2026-2030) and specifies maximum net expenditure growth rates for 2026-2030 (e.g., 6.6% in 2026, 6.0% in 2027) as the fiscal constraint framework.
• Background and concrete details: The document notes specific policy measures and implementation requirements, including the Irish regulator’s data center connection policy (data centers must provide dispatchable on-site or local generation or storage equal to their maximum import capacity, and 80% of annual demand must be met by new, additional renewable energy projects in Ireland within a 6-year implementation period); an allocation of EUR 600 million in the National Development Plan for circularity-related programmes; and projected fiscal impacts (e.g., the fiscal cost of recent energy-related measures projected at 0.1% of GDP in 2026, or up to 0.3% of GDP if measures persist to end-2026).