Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Hogan. I have two questions for the Climate Change Advisory Council. The fact is that 30% of housing development is taking place outside of built-up areas and that is a very high percentage. We have also problems with affordability issues related to homeownership in more compact areas. If we want to get to the levels of compact growth we need, those problems have to be addressed. More has to be done in that regard.

In his opening statement, Professor Morgenroth referred to a letter the council sent to the Minister for housing to highlight the need to enable and support the roll-out of district heating in tandem with the roll-out of other low-carbon heat sources. What needs to be done in the national planning framework to ensure this happens? For many years, there has been a lot of talk about district heating, yet it is rare to see it happen. Indeed, there have been issues in the areas where there are district heating systems. What needs to be done to ensure this happens?