Brian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The expenditure on energy under C.4 has gone up considerably. I presume the reason for that is energy efficiency. How many renewable energy projects have been supported through the SEAI schemes over the past year? Have any schools been given support to develop renewables? One of the good things that has been happening over the past number of years is the number of new schools being built even in 2013, 2014 and 2015 when there was not much money about. I give the Government credit for that. It is good that education continues to be a priority. We have built schools and a lot of money is spent on architects doing designs and all of them look the same. I am not sure why there is so much hoo-ha about the design. One of the things that is noticeable is they have flat roofs. A huge opportunity is being missed to capture solar energy on the rooftops of schools. I am talking about schools but one could also consider county hall in Laois where a new storey has been added for the payroll section for all the local authorities in the State and a whole lot of public bodies. There are 70 or 80 new employees in it. There is a flat roof which is mostly south facing. Have any schools been given support for that?

My other question is on renewable energy. It receives money from the ordinary householder through the PSO levy. There is a slow-down in the development of new renewables. If one looks at the figures for 2015 and 2016, will one see a downward trend in recent years? The figures indicate there has been a slowdown. At what point did it begin? If one looks at the 2014 to 2016 figures, one can see it. What is the explanation for it?