Patricia Ryan (Kildare South, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Listening to Deputy Canney, who talked about the retrofits, I am conscious of air to water pumps going into houses, particularly local authority houses. Recently, in my constituency, air to water pumps were put into houses. While it is great to see that happening, unfortunately, the windows were falling out, with the result that they might as well be heating the garden. There needs to be joined-up thinking around air to water and retrofitting.

We are all aware that last year, the Minister for Transport and for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Ryan, flagged a potential tax levy on SUVs. As we have acknowledged, the carbon tax tends to hit those on lower incomes the hardest. I understand the offset in social welfare measures can be used, but in terms of an issue of fairness and those with the broadest shoulders bearing the heaviest strain, we know that if you can afford you buy an SUV, you are unlikely to be struggling to heat your home. I ask for the witnesses' thoughts on the merits on a levy on SUVs.