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

I will pick up on a couple of points. The Department indicated that, between 2013 and 2021, shallow retrofits had been carried out on 75,000 local authority houses by way of cavity wall and attic insulation. The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI, tells us a very significant number of the shallow retrofits carried out during that time could benefit from being revisited as the technology has moved on. Does the Department have an indication of how the 75,000 are performing or how many would benefit from being revisited?

On the aggregated approach, the midlands area was given as an example. When the SEAI was before the committee, its representatives talked about a different pilot initiative it ran as part of the community energy grants scheme. They mentioned an area in Cork. I heard an official from Fingal County Council on "Morning Ireland" one morning lamenting the fact it could not take an aggregated approach and speaking about doing a number of houses in an estate while, in that case, private houses were not being done. What are the barriers to aggregation? Mr. Armstrong spoke about the need for co-ordination and pointed towards the one-stop shop. The Department is a big player in the retrofit plan. If the Government were to make an aggregated approach a priority, in Mr. Armstrong's opinion and given his experience in the midlands, what would be needed to make that happen?

There was significant focus on timber and a timber-first approach. Does the Department see opportunities in alternative technologies like hempcrete and 3D printing?

My last question relates to the area of demolition and demolition waste. When I speak to people in local authorities, I hear about Articles 27 and 28. I know they have come up as an issue in the housing committee's report. There is need for improvement with regard to licensing under those articles.