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

Much as I respect my fellow county man, Deputy O'Rourke, there is a strong smell of cynicism when I hear Sinn Féin saying that this measure fails the equity test. It meets the equity test on two very strong standards. It provides free retrofitting for all the families who live in local authority homes, the low paid at work, carers, people on disability allowance with young children, people on jobseeker's allowance with young children and people on the fuel scheme. This is very targeted at people who are at risk of being in fuel poverty. It also meets the equity test in that it is linking the polluter-pays principle, namely, people pay a carbon price for the damage that carbon does to their home, to the long-term transformation, starting with those who are least well-off. That is what this is doing. It absolutely meets the equity test. It is helping to transform this country for a better future, not only for today's generation but also for future generations.

As with much of the climate agenda, this is asking people to change the habits of a lifetime. Many of us are used to the open fire and poor insulation. People are living in poor conditions in some ways and they are going to have to change. It is unfamiliar. One of the things we will have to do is win the hearts and minds of people to recognise that this is a patriotic call to make changes in the building stock we have inherited, so that there will be a better life for people today, particularly older people who need that comfort, and for people in the future by having a better climate and better environment. We have to use trusted advocates to demonstrate that this is something we need.

It is not just we, as politicians, who should be advocating but the many people who recognise that we are building the environmental assets of the future by making this type of transformation. We must embed this in both personal and collective initiative. The sustainable energy communities, of which there are now 600, can be at the heart of helping people to make this change because a lot of it does not come easily to people. It is asking people to disrupt their homes. We can enlist volunteers within communities to do it on an area-by-area basis.

This should start with the oldest homes where the greatest risk of fuel poverty and bad energy conditions exist. The Minister should invite people to sign up and give them a year or 18 months to do so with supports that can be put in place. We should really tap into making it area-based and use communities. We need to make it easy and the one-stop shop is a great step forward. We should also have other measures. In the UK, when an attic clearance service was added to the installation package, there was a dramatically bigger uptake. People had been thinking about the disruption that would be caused. A very simple measure transformed the take-up. We need to be innovative in how we help people to do this. We should be rewarding the sustainable energy communities that perform best so we champion, recognise and reward people making the effort to transform their communities and make them climate resilient for the long term.

We should continuously trial new approaches. I know the officials are very committed to doing this. Many initiatives have been taken in this area. An example is the VAT rebate during the depths of the economic crisis. It got a lot of people to do work that otherwise would not have been done. This could be very attractive for people. It helps to have the Revenue Commissioners also on the side of making these changes. We need to step up the obligations on the energy sector and on producers of energy products in order that they will also participate in what is a national mobilisation.

I wish the Minister well. I thank him for the effort that has gone into bringing it to this point. The low-interest loan element with the one-stop shop all in one piece is vital. We need to see institutions such as An Post and the credit unions that are trusted in our communities driving this initiative. It is of enormous importance to the communities we seek to serve.

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