Mr. Jim Gannon:

The two questions to us are inter-related. The warmer homes programme has qualifying criteria. If one subtracts or adds to them, there will always be people who have an ability to pay and those who do not. Generally speaking, it is those who cannot pay whom we try to address through the warmer homes programme. Although we do not have empirical evidence, we noticed throughout the recession that those with an ability to pay constituted a declining cohort. They are often referred to as the squeezed middle. There was a dearth of activity in that area.

Regarding the second question, there is probably no single solution for Ireland. In light of how other countries intend to approach financing homeowners, it is likely that there will always be a cohort who can only be activated through a grant. Others will look towards a tax rebate.

The concept of "pay as you save" is gaining traction once again in a couple of regions in America and the UK. It was examined in Ireland in 2013 and 2014, but conditions did not seem right. As part of the review in the all-of-Government action plan, though, it must be considered as an option, given that it works. For example, this approach works in the Irish commercial sector, with the capital being brought to the solution and the savings being shared, meaning that there is no increase or so on.