Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

In respect of solar planning regulations, the problem is certain categories of buildings, such as schools, are not included in exemptions. The sizes that are exempt were based on older technologies and this creates particular problems for the PVs. I acknowledge the Department is limited in staff and has a million other things going on but when I hear that a review is to be concluded by the end of the year, it makes me nervous because it really means that nothing will change until the next year or the year after. That is not a criticism but is this such a complicated thing that it needs a significant review or is it not just a case of trying to update the regulations? Surely, the exemptions that are currently applied to schools could be updated, given the major school building programme under way and considering the level of urgency.

On gas boilers, if I understand Mr. Armstrong correctly, he stated the net emissions reduction for solar and gas versus a heat pump is about the same. Does that include the embedded carbon emissions from the extraction of the gas and its transportation? While I assume that it does not, he should let me know if it does. Part of what we are trying to do is reduce our reliance on fossil fuels but I detected a hesitancy in Mr. Armstrong's response, to the effect that there was not necessarily an objective that these things eventually would not exist or would only exist in very small numbers. He appeared to be suggesting that it was actually okay if 50% of our new dwellings continue to use fossil fuels, albeit at a reduced level, particularly when we are talking about expanding the level of overall house construction. Will Mr. Armstrong talk me through this some more?

If we are providing technical guidance documents for multi-unit developments in which, for example, gas boilers are being installed at present and if at some point that building must be retrofitted to replace the gas with something else, surely there must be elements of the technical guidance that can be put in place now that will make easier or reduce the cost of that retrofit, if and when it happens in ten, 15 or 20 years' time. Is that something that is being worked into the technical guidance documents? Is it being discussed or considered? If not, should this not be the case, as it is quite likely that in ten or 20 years' time, Members of the Oireachtas will be speaking to the witnesses or their successors and asking from where they will get the money to replace all these gas boilers with something else? If we make that change as easy as possible now, surely that would be good forward planning.