Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE) | Oireachtas source

I thank the SEAI for the presentation. I might go back and forth if that is okay. I will start with a big-picture question. Would it not make more sense to go about this in an entirely different way? I mean instead of providing grants, which introduce an element of regressiveness, in that those who can afford to match funding get the benefit of funding. Instead of relying on private companies to get involved - we know of only two so far that are one-stop shops - would it not be better to go about this an entirely different way and say that it is a crucial priority for us to retrofit all of these homes?

More than 1 million homes have been identified as being poorly insulated. Should we not establish a State-run company to do it? This would create tens of thousands of green jobs. It would be done at zero upfront cost to homeowners because the State will be able to borrow at a lower rate than any homeowner would. We could share out the costs between the State and homeowner over a period of 15 or 20 years. Would that not be a simpler, more direct way of doing it, as well as being more in line with the scale of the crisis, primarily the climate crisis but also the cost-of-living issues people are experiencing?