Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Yes. I thank the Chairman. I thank the Minister for the update and the figures he provided. To follow on from the points made by Deputy Whitmore and in terms of the targeting of the retrofit plan to areas of most need, will the warmer homes scheme be the vehicle for that or does the Minister intend to identify areas of deprivation or need through mapping or other means to ensure the welcome resources are targeted at where they are needed?

On the issue of solar photovoltaic, PV, targets, concerns have been raised regarding hold-ups in the system. It has been reported by people working on the front line in this area that projects that requested their second stage payment in August 2020 have not yet received an invoice, eight months later. That stalls things and means they cannot move to design stage. Similarly, I believe none of those involved in the renewable electricity support scheme 1, RESS 1, auction, have yet seen a work programme. I ask the Minister to address that issue.

Finally, I ask the Minister to outline the status of the North-South interconnector and the proposed review of the project. I heard there is a scoping review for a short review. Has that been agreed? What is the timeline in that regard? Has it been resourced?