Dr. Paul Deane:

Apologies, but I do not know enough about it. However, the Deputy raised an important point. We have spoken a lot today about electricity for our appliances, gas for our electricity and gas for our homes, but just under 1 million homes in Ireland use oil or kerosine to heat their homes. That is a high level of reliance. Ireland has one of the highest levels of reliance on oil-fired heating per person in the EU. Anything we can do to reduce that is fundamentally important, not only environmentally because oil is polluting, but also socially. We are all exposed when it comes to gas prices but we see the volatility in kerosene prices and home-heating prices and, therefore, any technology we can use on the supply side, be it geothermal technology, air-to-earth heat pumps or sustainable biomass, is fundamentally important, but we also need to consider the fabric of our built infrastructure. A typical Irish home built before the 2000s probably leaks 60% to 70% of its heat. Giving people heating systems is one element that we need to consider but we must also make sure the heat stays in the houses.