Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

This morning, Professor John FitzGerald said Irish households will spend between €25 billion and €75 billion over the next 30 years to retrofit cold homes. The vast bulk of resources will come from householders' own pockets. At present, we do not have the skills to do what is required so households that want to be climate friendly and reduce their carbon footprint simply cannot do so. We have nobody to advise on how to go about it. We had a public meeting recently with Professor FitzGerald and he explained in detail how this is a massive problem. We do not have Dermot Bannons to advise people, unless, of course, they have €100,000 or more to invest in a whole-house refit. In the context of thousands of young people unemployed and sitting at home, when does the Government propose to take action to create apprenticeships, training opportunities and jobs in this most vital sector for those who want to respond and reduce their carbon footprint? The Government will not help them.

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