Liz McManus (Wicklow, Labour)

I wish the Minister well. He will find there will be times when he gets more support on this side of the House than the Government side.

The Minister has made a bad start. The greener homes grant scheme, which the Minister described on 11 October 2006 as a drop in the ocean, has run into the sand because the money has run out. He now proposes a much lower grant scheme for what is a relatively costly business for many people, namely, changing to renewable energy products from traditional sources. It is very hard to understand how the Minister can justify slashing grants as he is doing and I ask him to comment. How much money has been allocated for phase 2 and where is it coming from?

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