Minister O’Brien welcomes shared commitment to decarbonisation at conclusion of second annual Ireland-UK Summit

Energy was a core pillar of Summit with focus on affordability, renewables and energy security

Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment Darragh O’Brien welcomed productive engagement with his UK counterpart on energy issues at the conclusion of the Ireland-UK Summit 2026 which took place in Cork. Alongside the Taoiseach Micheál Martin, Tánaiste Simon Harris, and senior government colleagues, Minister O’Brien met with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, Ed Miliband, for the second annual Summit.
Energy was a core pillar of Summit 2026, with a key focus on closer cooperation between both countries to deploy offshore wind at scale, increased electricity interconnection and securing critical infrastructure in our shared maritime space. In an ambitious communiqué, both countries undertook to work together in areas such as marine planning, interconnection, data exchange and energy affordability.
Speaking at the conclusion of the Summit, Minister O’Brien said:
“Recent events in the Middle East have shown the deep vulnerabilities in energy systems which are dependent on fossil fuel imports. The best way to secure our energy independence and drive down consumer costs is to deploy home-grown renewable energy at scale. Ireland and the UK are committed to decarbonising our energy supply, and this Summit set out a number of key actions which we will deliver together to turn our shared maritime space into a thriving hub for offshore wind deployment, increased electricity interconnection and enhanced marine protected area networks.
This Summit has come as Ireland reaches 8GW of onshore renewable electricity generation, which is a significant milestone. We’re building on this both in Ireland and with our near neighbours, creating opportunities for jobs, investments, and a more stable economy.”
This year’s Summit saw the signing of an expanded Memorandum of Understanding between the electricity transmission system operators of Ireland, Great Britain and Northern Ireland (EirGrid, NESO and SONI), to increase knowledge-sharing and cooperation.
Both Minister O’Brien and Secretary of State Miliband also welcomed progress on the privately developed MaresConnect Interconnector – which will be the fourth subsea electricity interconnector between the island of Ireland and the UK – and committed to showing visible progress on the North-South Interconnector by the end of 2026.