Mr. Robert Deegan:

There is some outreach going on. I was talking to colleagues in the SEAI the other day who are going to local libraries to talk to communities about energy saving and the options available to people who want to retrofit. There are also community-based social marketing events that the SEAI is overseeing. They are actually going into communities and where possible, they are bringing people into homes that have been retrofitted so that they can really experience the difference. There is nothing like seeing it for oneself and that is particularly true with heat pumps. Even though heat pump technology has been around for years, it still quite a new thing to a lot of people. That is changing but until one actually gets to experience it, one might be a little hesitant about making the investment.

In terms of new builds, virtually every house is going to have a heat pump from next year. Around 96% of houses built last year had heat pumps and that will reach 100%. More and more people are going to get to experience this and see how comfortable it is. Very rarely do you hear people giving out about retrofitting after they have done it. Once they experience it, hopefully a snowball effect will be generated, which will be supported by the various initiatives that are brought in by the Government.