Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

That does make sense because the cost comes down, be the homes private, social, owned by the council or owned by the citizen. We must look at how we do it.

There are some 3,000 heat pumps going in under the grant system this year. We need to see that accelerating. This is one figure that is not going up as fast as I would like. We need to really push that. The July study referred to was the first of a pilot test where SEAI was looking at where setting of the standards was too rigid for when a house would benefit from a heat pump. Typically, they went very high in building and energy efficiency ratings. That study has started now. My officials tell me - and this is where the detail is useful - that we will have to wait until next year to see the results of it because one must look at a full year and have a full year analysis to assess how it has worked. From the people I would respect and listen to on this, my sense is that we need to be slightly more flexible. The benefit of heat pumps is so real and it is clear at this stage that they are the best technology for the Irish climate for a house that has a good level of insulation. They are the best heat, the lowest maintenance, and easiest to operate.

There are huge advantages with the use of heat pumps. We need to scale that up. We need to multiply the number of heat pumps going in.