Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I absolutely agree with Deputy Bruton and the approach he has taken. In a time of emergency, where resources are limited and there are constraints around the availability of construction workers to do this work, the focus must be on those homes where people are at risk of, or are already in, energy poverty and where the upgrades can be done quickly and efficiently. That is one of the reasons the Social Democrats spoke repeatedly throughout the budget about solar energy. Solar panels will see a reduction of 40% in energy usage, as will retrofitting, but it seems the focus is very much on the latter, which is much more expensive and takes an awful lot longer because it cannot be done as quickly.

On the warmer homes scheme, 3,200 homes have been delivered this year. How many are on the waiting list and how many have actually qualified? Some homes have already qualified for those grants but how many are on the list to be qualified and how long is the waiting list?