Search the record

imposition on old people, many of them in their final days, who want to be able to heat their home. All they want is a modicum of heat and comfort. They do not want airtight houses with air-to-water pumps or everything else; they want an ordinary … Government can find hundreds of millions for the Ukraine war and then it blames the Iranian war for the price of oil. The Government is part and parcel of that Ukraine war for hundreds of millions of people. If President Zelenskyy came over here and he only broke

grants for windows and doors. Simple upgrades like attic insulation, cavity wall or external wall insulation can reduce heating bills by up to €230 annually. A full home retrofit can lead to savings of €750 to €1,120 per year on energy costs. Almost 89,000 applications have … home energy upgrades between 2019 and August 2026, including more than 39,500 fully funded upgrades for households at risk of energy poverty under the warmer homes scheme. As of the end of August 2026, the domestic solar PV scheme has supported more than 21,000 homes

record allocation of €640 million for SEAI retrofit schemes, allowing us to target up to 73,000 home energy upgrades this year, including €340 million for the warmer homes scheme, which provides fully funded upgrades for those in energy poverty. I agree, however, with many of the speakers … applications processed to date in 2025. Since 2019, over 268,000 home energy upgrades have been completed, thanks to Government funding of €1.8 billion, including 36,300 fully funded under the warmer homes scheme. The Minister, Deputy O'Brien, has significantly expanded the retrofit measures, something

policy. A report published today by the ESRI indicates that 14% of households in 2024 stated that they were unable to afford adequate heating or pay their energy bills in full, and that approximately 30% of households experienced some form of energy affordability challenge. The report states … while policy decisions are prioritising large energy-intensive users. At the same time, we are sitting on an enormous untapped resource. One million homes in Ireland are suitable for rooftop solar. Just ten panels can save an average household more than €450 per year on electricity bills. That

should be transparent and must be scrutinised but the underlying principle is straightforward: if the State asks people to change how they heat their homes, how they travel and how they consume energy, the State must invest in making those changes possible. That sentiment is somewhat reflected … fenced carbon tax funding, went to retrofitting, including the warmer homes scheme which gives grants to low-income households to improve the energy efficiency of their homes. That funding is helping struggling families to keep their homes warm and lowering their bills. The second largest stream of funding

transport fees; and — deploy the windfall Apple funds to turbocharge retrofitting, the installation of solar photovoltaic and offshore wind, and the electrification of heating and transport, to bring down the cost of bills; and further calls on the Government to introduce a Budget in October that puts … long-fingering of a living wage. I could go on. The Government made choices in last year's budget that are now coming home to roost. For example, it went all in on plain silly VAT cuts for a hospitality sector that is adding jobs

reduced cost to nearby buildings. I would love to see that being done at a faster rate. I commend everyone at district heating Ireland on the work they are doing. I support 100% the parts of the motion on electricity affordability especially those referring to disabled people, those … data centres or any large energy user, LEU, across the country had an easier route to use solar, renewables or hydrotreated vegetable oil, HVO, to supply on-site generation at an easier rate, it would be very beneficial for them and that would in turn benefit the Irish

Government is due to fall well short of its retrofitting targets of 500,000 residential retrofits and the deployment of 400,000 heat pumps by 2030; — the National Development Plan Review 2025 has reversed the previous Government's policy of providing a ratio of 2:1 investment … Plan; and — protect vulnerable households from the ongoing fossil fuel price crisis through new targeted supports and safeguards, by speeding up access to home energy upgrades, and by ensuring that Ireland develops its own secure and clean renewable energy. Today, 22 April, is Earth Day, a day that

ambition. It is doing that on a week when we are seeing the realities of the scale of climate change across Europe, with heat impacting on so many countries and making life intolerable for millions of people. The irony of this is lost on the Government, which … creating significant fossil fuel lock-in within our energy system and doubling down on a higher cost of fuel for families and for homes. LNG terminals do not store LNG for long periods of time. They have to be continually topped off because of the burn