Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am running out of time. The debate has opened up and there is a focus on the carbon tax. Economists in America signed a letter about the "Green New Deal" to put the focus on carbon taxes, which is supported by also by the industry. It is really a debate about whether we need to be investing and whether the State needs to play a larger role, such as rolling out deep retrofitting, more supports for energy-efficient cars, such as electric vehicles, public fleet or public infrastructure as opposed to just a market solution.

We need to meet these targets but the challenge, as I see it at this point, is that many people simply cannot simply do it. The cost of retrofitting their homes even with State supports is way beyond their means. The cost of buying an electric vehicle is way beyond their means and telling them that they will make so much savings in five, six, seven, eight, nine or ten years is not enough.

Microgeneration is an area where they can get some money to offset some of those costs. Perhaps I can get the departmental officials to focus on the legislation that was drafted by Deputy Stanley two years ago. It passed Second Stage in the Dáil but the Microgeneration Support Scheme Bill 2017 is currently before Dáil Éireann and is being obstructed on Committee Stage by the Government. Yet we see this nice glossy report with no costings but a lot of ambition. How do we take that at face value when there is an obstruction in place to block Bills that will do what some of the measures outlined? Is there a change of heart to the Microgeneration Support Scheme Bill 2017 or will the Government continue to block it?