Mr. Robert Deegan:

Yes, the rental sector is a particularly challenging area and is known as a split incentive. That has really caused a lot of problems. By that, I mean the incentives to upgrade the properties are not aligned between the tenant and the landlord. It is something that is seen across Europe and the world. It is something we are very keen to address because we cannot leave the rental sector behind as we upgrade the rest of the housing stock, which is something very clearly articulated in the national retrofit plan.

I will set out what we have in place at the moment. There are approved housing bodies. For that cohort of people in the rental sector, there are generous supports available through the community energy grant scheme and the national home energy upgrade scheme. There are enhanced supports for AHB tenancies, under those schemes, rather than just the standard upgrade rates. There is also a new tax incentive that was introduced by the Department of Finance. It is a tenant in situscheme so there is a tax relief of up to €10,000 to support landlords to retrofit their properties.