Róisín Garvey (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

There is always room for improvement but the Department is facing a huge challenge. We have had badly-built houses here for many years. I did up an old cottage myself 20 years ago and did a hemp and lime plaster render on the inside. It should not take too long. I do not know why we need pilots. I know plenty of people who have been doing it for 20 years and more. I calculated the U values myself and it is not rocket science. I am hoping there will not be too much of a delay in that traditional area. That brings me to the issue of recognised prior learning. If one looks at the SEAI recognised workers, they are all electricians, plumbers and so on. The SEAI does not recognise people who have been plastering with hemp, thatching roofs and so on. I thatched the roof and plastered the walls. It was a deep retrofit of a very old cottage and I did it myself. It was a cosy, warm, B-rated home by the end of the process, with none of the modern stuff involved. Lots of people have been doing this for a long time and we will have to recognise their prior learning and get them to lead the way in the traditional field, instead of modern companies who claim to be good at things like hemp plastering. We are seeing a lot of Johnny-come-lately types who are claiming to be experts. It would be really important to recognise the people who have been using these traditional skills for many years and to let them lead the way on this. The education and communication aspects are very important. If we are paying people to have these jobs in local authorities, it would be great to see them involved. It would be great to get the Department to make sure they are reaching out and educating people because this is new for people.