Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I wanted to ask a couple of questions around district heating because it sounds very promising. I am thinking about people in my own constituency who are worried about the little district in their own home and they cannot put the heat on in the kitchen and the sitting room at the same time or they have to deal with cold bedrooms. I know there is a pilot scheme in Tallaght running off a data centre. I would not like district heating to be some kind of a ruse to get more data centres. However, I would like to ask the witnesses how they are communicating with communities that might be looked upon favourably for district heating. What can we do to make sure they are not wasting their time and money applying for heat pumps, upgrading homes or whatever?

The last time the witnesses were before the committee, they said they were working on an energy security emergency group, ESEG, and working on vulnerable household schemes. I would like to hear about how that is progressing. The SEAI also hosts energy clinics where people can drop in if they have queries. I would like to get feedback about that as well, because the communication and messaging has not been great. Many people who are financially vulnerable as well might look upon these things and say they cannot afford it and there is no point in even applying for it. I would be interested in the outreach on that.