Paddy Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Cathaoirleach. I have a couple of brief questions to follow what Deputy Ó Laoghaire about the fabric and how that ties in with the heat pump. Heat pumps are very complicated to use. They are very complicated machines. It is not like turning on or off the gas or oil boiler. They have to be set and people have to use the best rate they can, whether it is the day rate or night rate or whatever. In many of those older houses there are also ranges, which run on oil, gas or kerosene and they can be converted to use electricity.

There are certain companies in Ireland now that convert ranges, whether they are Stanley, Rayburn or AGA, to electricity. There will be a big use of electricity and that will apply to the lower grade, as well.

On all of this I have asked this question of other Departments on a number of occasions where I have not seen any progress at all made with regard to small wind turbines. Not every house is suitable for solar panels. Some local authority houses have no room for solar panels. Small wind turbines can be placed on the gable of a house and I am led to believe that they can be put on a chimney pot or on the top of a chimney. They are flexible and with the weather conditions we have, it is more suitable to small wind turbines in the winter time when the high usage of electricity occurs compared to the summer time. We use most of our electricity in the winter time and solar panels are of little use then. In fact, many solar panels produce very little in the weather we have had in the past couple of months.

Have the witnesses had any discussions with the Department on small wind turbines? I have to say that in all of my dealings with the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI, it is very efficient, runs a great show and one can always contact it. One sends an email and receives a response straight away but there does not seem to be any grant available for small wind turbines and I could see a big role to be played by them. A bigger wind turbine could be put in a housing estate in a rural setting which could facilitate this type of infrastructure also. Is there any thinking in this regard or has anyone contacted the witnesses about small domestic wind turbines?