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

I do not deny the headline figures outlined by the Minister in terms of the budget and spend. We will no doubt spend a lot of time in the months and years ahead tracking that and ensuring it gets delivered. However, it does not address the decision to move €128.6 million. The better energy communities scheme has been identified as one that must reduce its spend in the year ahead. To what degree is fuel poverty reduction prioritised in the decision-making process at departmental level? Some of the options available to the Minister have a greater impact on reducing fuel poverty than others. Notwithstanding the big spend, when the Minister made the decision relating to this scheme, what level of importance was given to fuel poverty bearing in mind that there has been a €19 million reduction involving a transfer to a scheme that is universal? That is acknowledged as a weakness across the board. There has been a reduction of €19 million relating to the better energy communities scheme, which is specifically targeted, at least in part, to reduce fuel poverty, and that money is being transferred to this universal scheme.