Translating research into decisions, a ministerial view 

In 2025, Ireland’s former Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment published a retrospective reflection on how the Irish TIMES model supported ministerial decision-making during his tenure (2016–2018). During this period, Ireland was implementing the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act, negotiating key EU climate and energy legislation with the European Commission, and developing national policies including Ireland’s first Clean Air Strategy.

The reflection describes how the TIMES-Ireland model, developed by University College Cork, served as a practical decision-support tool linking long-term system analysis with concrete policy questions. Targeted model runs helped clarify trade-offs between policy options, identify system constraints, and assess the implications of alternative decarbonisation pathways. 

Beyond domestic policymaking, modelling results were also used to support Ireland’s position in EU negotiations by providing transparent and internally consistent evidence on national emissions trajectories and structural constraints. Close collaboration between modellers and civil servants also strengthened analytical capacity within the administration and supported more evidence-based parliamentary discussions, including within the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action.