Ireland submits request to modify recovery and resilience plan

Ireland’s proposed modification of the plan, which will now be assessed by the Commission, concerns seven investments included in the original plan. Of these, two investments are removed from the plan, namely those concerning private investments in energy efficiency and the installation of renewable energy sources, as well as supporting access to the labour market for jobseekers who have been unemployed for more than six months.

Ireland’s request is based on the need to factor in the downward revision of its maximum Recovery and Resilience Facility grant allocation, from €989 million to €914 million. The revision is part of the June 2022 update to the RRF grants allocation key and reflects Ireland’s comparatively better economic outcome in 2020 and 2021 than initially foreseen. Ireland’s request to modify its plan is also based on objective circumstances, such as the stronger than anticipated post-pandemic recovery of the labour market and the very high inflation of construction materials’ costs experienced in 2022 due to supply chain disruptions caused by the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine.

The Commission will now assess whether the modified plan still fulfils all the assessment criteria in the Recovery and Resilience Facility Regulation. If the Commission’s assessment is positive, it will make a proposal for an amended Council Implementing Decision to reflect the changes to the Irish plan. The Council will then be asked to endorse the Commission’s assessment.