Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Apparently the level of per kW return per cent for a 500 kW boiler is similar to what it is for a 100 kW. One only gets the marginal returns for boilers with a very high capacity. The Department of Communications, Climate Change and Environment mentioned that there would potentially be 3,000 large commercial end users. Even if the Department is targeting that group, if we could ensure that there is an allocation for a couple of 1,000, on a first come, first served basis, to include boilers of 100 kW. The provision would mean mushroom houses and the average sized hotel could install 100 kW boilers thus creating a market for smaller local producers to supply the boilers. It would be against the spirit of the initiative if one had to transport the product large distances. The pathway that the Department of Communications, Climate Change and Environment is on needs to be considered because the sector will not develop unless it adopts a different approach.