Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I also have a broader question. The Minister was talking about how we are going to make sure that we do not miss targets on the infrastructure. It is important that we get moving on the infrastructure. There is a significant lag time in developing that kind of renewable energy infrastructure. One of the points that really struck me with the programme for Government is that the target for something relatively simple like retrofitting homes was a 2030 target. Why was the target back-loaded? A regulatory framework must be put in place for wind farms and then the engineering of the infrastructure will take a considerable period. I would have thought retrofitting could have been front-loaded and that we could have invested heavily in it, allowing us to create jobs, plus reduce emissions. I am just wondering why that was the case. What I find most difficult about addressing our climate responsibilities is our speed of action for even simple things. The roll-out of electric vehicle, EV, charging points or smart meters seems difficult. Does the Minister think that is a barrier to doing the big infrastructure programmes?

My two questions are on why the retrofitting of houses was not front-loaded and on the speed of our implementation. Does the Minister see it as a significant barrier?