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

I welcome this debate, but listening to the Sinn Féin speakers, one would not get any hint that energy poverty has halved in the past three years, that is, between 2016 and 2019. The key to tackling energy poverty lies in the energy systems that families have. A less energy efficient-rated home will have heating bills ten times those of a more energy efficient home. Using an open fire to heat a home is four times more costly compared with an efficient gas system.

I welcome the progress being made under the warmer homes and local authority schemes, where 215,000 homes of low-income families have had their energy rating upgraded. That has probably yielded about a 50% increase in what is available from the fuel scheme. It is a valuable increase, and it is not just for one year. It is an increase in energy efficiency that will continue forever for that home and for the families who live there. The scheme is 100% funded by the Government.

I also welcome the broadened access to the scheme. It is now available to those on carer's allowance, domiciliary care allowance, those jobseekers who have been out of work for more than six months, and those low-income families claiming what used to be called the family income supplement. I also welcome the extension of the community scheme, which is very innovative. It offers more flexibility, because instead of some families just above the threshold having to pay 75% of the cost, this scheme allows lower income families to be included in a flexible way at an affordable cost.

I believe, however, that we must show far greater ambition in this area. I want to see the rental sector, where many low-income families are living, targeted by these schemes. I also want to see an area-based scheme introduced. The reality is that homes built before 1950 typically have six times the energy use of the type of target which we have set for the long term. We must see those homes addressed on an area basis to ensure that every low-income family and others can participate in this upgrading scheme. A retrofitting wave, as it is described in the European Union, which would be modelled on our community scheme, is the answer. and in that way we can make even more progress regarding the important issue of energy poverty.

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