Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

It is about how we try to capture this worth. We talk about energy costs on their own but we do not talk about the health benefits. If people are living in a healthier, better-ventilated and warmer home, their health costs will actually be much improved or reduced as a result. Very often, we do not do a good job of considering these things in the round. We tend to compartmentalise.

I want to ask about the potential for quick interim measures. Our guests will be aware of the work of that EnergyCloud does, which makes all kinds of sense. It has workers available for the fitting of smart meters. The meter is popped into the cylinder and the excess energy that is going to spill off the grid anyway is used. People get a free fill of warm water, which has all of the attendant health benefits as well. Similarly, the fitting of solar panels can be very quick. We can encounter resistance from people, particularly social housing tenants, when we talk about retrofitting their homes because it generally involves disruption to both household and lifestyle. However, solar panels do not give rise to that because they are fitted easily and they make a massive difference from an energy perspective. People feel the difference. Has the SEAI looked in any serious way at the possibility, while people are waiting for retrofits that are going to take us years to get done everywhere, of funding and enabling things like EnergyCloud and solar panels for social homes so that people can reap the benefits straight away? Have we looked at anything like that in order that we can bridge the gap for people who are experiencing this?