Irish District Energy Association (Irish District Energy Association)

Lobbying Organisation Irish District Energy Association

Date published 21 Sep, 2026

Relevant Matter Legislation

Public Policy Area Energy and Natural Resources

Period 1 May. 2026 to 31 Aug. 2026

Specific Details Stakeholder meetings and emails in relation to the Heat Bill

Intended results Policy and grant supports for District Heating in Ireland, in order to support hitting the government emissions reduction targets for heat

Name of person primarily responsible for lobbying on this activity Pauline O'Reilly

Did any Designated Public Official(DPO) or former Designated Public Official(DPO) carry out lobbying activities on your behalf in relation to this return? You must include yourself, and answer Yes, if you are a current DPO or a DPO at any time in the past. (What is a Designated Public Official?) Yes

Current or Former Designated Public Official(s)

Pauline O'Reilly (Former DPO) Senator (Seanad)

Pauline O'Reilly (Former DPO) Councillor (Galway City Council)

Did you manage or direct a grassroots campaign? No

Was this lobbying done on behalf of a client? No

Lobbying activity

The following activities occurred for this specific Subject Matter Area.

Phone call (1)

22nd May Brian Carroll Discussed the current status of the Heat (Networks and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024 (Heat Bill)

Meeting (1)

27th May Fine Gael Climate Committee in Leinster House Discussed the current status of the Heat (Networks and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024 (Heat Bill) and gave overview of District Heating Attended with Isidore McCormack, secretary of IrDEA

Meeting (1)

27th May Deputy Barry Heneghan in Leinster House Discussed the current status of the Heat (Networks and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024 (Heat Bill) and gave overview of District Heating Attended with Isidore McCormack, secretary of IrDEA

Meeting (1)

12th July meeting with Deputy Ciarán Ahern in Leinster House Discussed the current status of the Heat (Networks and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024 (Heat Bill) and update on Tallaght DH Scheme

Meeting (1)

25th June meeting with Deputy Jennifer Whitmore in Leinster House Discussed the current status of the Heat (Networks and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024 (Heat Bill) and overview of district heating in Ireland

Meeting (1)

10th July meeting with SEAI Declan Meally and Ciaran Byrne, as board member of Renewable Energy Ireland Discussed renewable energy, heat emissions and the new SEAI strategic plan

Event / Reception (1)

22nd July summer event for the organisation with William Walsh as key note speaker

Meeting (1)

12th August - invited to a meeting with Brian Carroll and officials in DCEE working on the Heat (Networks and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024 (Heat Bill) in department buildings Attended with David Connolly Chair of IrDEA board

Designated public officials lobbied

The following DPOs were lobbied during this return period on this specific Subject Matter Area. These DPOs were involved in at least one of the Lobbying Activities listed above, but not necessarily all of them. As returns are specific to a Subject Matter Area the above Lobbying Activities may be associated with multiple returns.

Brian Carroll Assistant Secretary (Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment)

William Walsh Chief Executive Officer (Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland)

Ciarán Ahern TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

Barry Heneghan TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

Declan Meally Director (Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland)

Ciaran Byrne Director (Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland)

Jennifer Whitmore TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

Gareth Scahill Senator (Seanad)

Garret Kelleher Senator (Seanad)

Catherine Callaghan TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

Naoise Ó Muirí TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)