Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I agree with the points made by the Deputy. Last Friday, I attended a very useful session in Mount Lucas which brought together many companies operating in the new decarbonisation world and which offer many employment opportunities. Representatives of educational institutions were also in attendance to identify how the midlands could be a centre for developing some of the new retrofitting opportunities. Very practical examples were offered. Bord na Móna is leading the charge in moving from brown to green, as it describes it. It is looking at new ways in which it can develop as a renewables provider, become involved in resource recovery and look at new forms of delivery using its existing assets.

The Deputy is correct that some sectors and people will come under pressure. It is important to state that there is a positive payback from retrofitting and many other changes that must be made. The economy will benefit from the changes, although there may be an upfront cost. As part of the plan, we will examine the existing grant levels from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland and determine whether there are other approaches that could improve the capacity of people to avail of its supports. We will have to look at smart finance and the scale of our undertakings. We will be looking at how to help people to make the transition. Interestingly, 256 sustainable energy communities are already lifting themselves up by their own bootstraps with State support.

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