Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

The per capita budget is rising, mainly for roads that will lead to more sprawl with all of us living in Mullingar and commuting to Dublin according to the Minister of State at the Department of Defence. There is another big capital project that has not been funded and I am interested to know how we do this. Professor John FitzGerald at another Oireachtas committee said that for Ireland to meet its climate change targets we need to spend €5 billion retrofitting just the social housing we already have to make it zero carbon and into quality housing. This is the best low carbon mitigation and we have to do this because Ireland will be spending €500 million per year in fines unless we start to do something. How will we fund €5 billion for retrofitting in the next ten years? If the constraint is such that the capital budget is constrained, and one can only take a certain amount there as there are other demands, then from where are we to get that money?