Mr. Mark Griffin:

We are kind of unique as a Department in that our budgetary provision for retrofit between now and the end of 2030 has been set out in the national development plan. We know we have at least €8 billion to spend. We know precisely what we will have for the next five years. I think we are one of only two Departments have that set out in such precise terms.

This could be looked at in a couple of ways. It could be said that it is a bad thing that people now have access to this. However, it is not. These are the people who need access to the greatest extent possible. The challenge for the Department and the SEAI now is how to manage that. Mr. Deegan rightly set out that we did an average of 177 units a month in 2021, but for the past three months the SEAI contractors have delivered 400 units per month, which is a significant increase. Mr. Deegan and the assistant secretary in this area met the suppliers in the past couple of weeks and they are absolutely up for this. The fact that the Government and the Oireachtas have given such certainty on the level of the funding means they can plan accordingly.