Dr. Phil Hemmingway:

That is no problem at all. The best national reference guide to the potential opportunity for district heating is in the SEAI national heat study. That looked at potential heat demands and sources across the country. That is certainly worth a read. There is a climate action plan target for capacity installed of district heating. In recent years, the Department has formed a steering group of multiple relevant bodies to consider district heating and what needs to be set up and done. That resulted in a steering group report being sent to the Minister in recent months. It has resulted in a centre of excellence being set up in the SEAI to try to drive forward the deployment of district heating. I understand the centre of excellence will do a lot of heavy lifting in terms of trying to figure out what is the best approach to take in the context of learnings from other countries.

The CRU has been appointed as the customer protection regulator for district heating in the first instance. I believe a heat Bill is due to be published or considered early next year, which will add a lot more colour to the area of district heating. The CRU's regulatory remit may potentially be expanded as part of that but other pieces of the jigsaw will be filled in by the heat Bill.