The Public Accounts Committee has heard that almost €220 million which has been allocated from the Climate Action Fund has yet to be drawn down.
It also heard that around €45m of the fund has not yet been allocated - and that funding may be withdrawn if projects fail to "get to the mark".
Oonagh Buckley, Secretary General, Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment said that the Climate Action Fund has taken in "around €523.8m" so far, of which €478.9m has been allocated.
She told Fianna Fáil TD Albert Dolan that she has "just sent a further proposal to the minister to allocate a further €40m... which will bring us pretty much to full allocation".
"There is not a lot of unallocated balances," she said. "We are waiting for those balances to be drawn down by the projects it has been allocated to."
So far, €261m has been drawn down, she revealed.
Asked what the delay was in drawing the remaining funds down, she said that "it tends to be maturity of the projects".
This is partly a result of the fund's goal of supporting "novel types of projects that we haven't really done here in Ireland" such as district heating.
"Ultimately we may have to put proposals to the minister to decommit funding," she warned, "if we think a particular proposal isn't going to get to the mark".
But she added that "there is a certain reluctance on our part" to do so, as some of the slower projects "are real leaders in particular systems" and are worth supporting.
Development of flood prediction system
Deputy Dolan asked if the Government would consider talking to the innovation consultant featured on RTÉ News who is skilled in probability and data analysis and who has developed a new national flood prediction system.
A native of Dublin, currently residing in Enniscorthy in Co Wexford, Gavyn Pedley has spent two decades analysing data and developing products and solutions in Ireland, Denmark and Spain.
Tom McCormack, Financial and Commercial Lead in Digital Connectivity Office, Department of Culture, Communications and Sport told the deputy that he "could take that back".
"I'll see whether we can do that," he said, when pressed if the department could liaise with Mr Pedley.
EU fines
The Comptroller and Auditor General, Séamus McCarthy warned that "current projections indicate that - even with the implementation of planned additional measures - greenhouse gas emissions are expected to exceed national anti-EU limits set for 2030".
"It is therefore likely that the Exchequer would face significant financial liabilities and compliance-related costs," he said.
Mr McCarthy added: "The value of these costs is highly uncertain, with estimates ranging from €3 billion euros to €26 billion.
"Responsibility for delivering the national climate objectives objective spans several departments of Government and it remains unclear which votes (departments) will ultimately bear the cost of the expected failure to achieve the agreed targets."
He was citing findings from his previously published 2024 audit of Government spending.
