Mr. Jim Copeland:

I agree with Deputy Tóibín. That is why we mentioned in our submission that even the home renovation tax incentive scheme has been a great boon to everyone. That is not necessarily just on energy products, but on anything that goes into the fabric of the home. When one considers that the scheme, which is not yet a year old, has brought in €170 million, it is a great achievement. It brings people into the legitimate trade as well, as one must be tax-compliant from a contractor's point of view and one must have one's property tax paid from a resident's point of view.

The other schemes administered by Sustainable Energy Ireland are all of benefit but they need to be hammered home. One of the biggest problems with the home renovation tax incentive scheme is that it has not been advertised enough. Some €170 million was generated without a great deal of promotion. We advocate that the second phase of the scheme be promoted heavily because there is a pent-up demand. People want to put money back into their homes and if they are going to do it, they will go for the energy-efficient option. They will go for the insulation and the timer switches to save energy and power. With water meters now being fitted, they will go for shower heads that will save on water, for rain butts, and for retention tanks. There is a great opportunity for the Government to increase tax revenues by giving a bit of leeway as an incentive and promoting it as heavily as possible.

One of the downsides of the renovation scheme is that one must wait two years to get one's tax credit back. Those operating in the shadow economy will give the consumer the money off straight away. The delay in receiving the tax credit is a big disincentive and this is something we will ask the Government to reconsider. As the recovery is happening in Dublin-Leinster, it has not had the chance to spread to the rest of the country so an extension of the scheme would allow the midlands, the west and the north and the south to avail of it. I would be surprised if we do not get to €500 million very quickly if it is extended, and there is no cost to the State. To answer Deputy Tóibín's question, whatever incentive we can give to put value back into our homes will be worthwhile. Everyone knows the value an Irish person sees in their land and their home, so they will want to put value back into it.

On Deputy Tóibín's earlier question about LEOs, whatever they can do to help retailers on the ground to get business plans together and apply for credit, to help them with IT and digital marketing, should be encouraged. The LEOs have so far been focused on areas other than retail, which is a huge employer. There should be a dedicated officer in LEOs around the country looking at retail because that is where the economy will bounce back. In that regard we must all get out and spend.