Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I often think when I am here about The Frames' song, "Star Star" and this lyric:

Cause I don't understand these people

Who say the hill's too steep

Well they talk and talk forever

But they just never climb

The hill is steep. The targeted emissions reduction that we have is as steep a hill as anyone has ever faced. This retrofit scheme is part of us climbing that hill. Rather than moving around the Opposition fridge magnets of missed opportunity or such, this is us getting on with the exceptionally important job in front of us. It is one that provides huge opportunities. We are funding this retrofitting scheme into the future in an ambitious way. We are leveraging some private wealth to do it, which Deputy Boyd Barrett should welcome, since we are unlocking that wealth and putting it to work productively in our communities. We are providing certainty for the future, so that jobs and structures can be created. I am thinking of regional structures such as the Waterford Energy Bureau. It knows the job that it has in front of it for the next decade. I am also thinking of small businesses, because this is not work that can be outsourced to the Far East. They include small businesses in Waterford such as Enerpower, Sunstream, which is a solar energy company, and Redfoot Roofing. These are all small businesses that employ people in the community. They put the skills that Deputy Matthews outlined to work in the community.

I am thinking of regional training centres, such as the Waterford Wexford Education and Training Board. It led on the centre of excellence for retrofitting. There is a regeneration opportunity in the centres of our towns and villages for older building stock. I am thinking of places in Waterford like Ballybricken or Mount Sion Avenue, where my mother grew up. Housing there dates to the mid-1800s. We can bring that up to a modern standard. I think of places where I went to school, including Lisduggan and Larchville. There is 1970s social housing that would be brought up to the modern, liveable standard, to provide a better standard of living for the people in it.

Deputy Whitmore highlighted the challenge with the number of workers. It is absolutely a challenge, but it is also an opportunity. This is good, clean work with solid jobs that will exist into the future. I was speaking with the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, at the Joint Committee on Social Protection, Community and Rural Development and the Islands. He raised the possibility of people on community employment schemes or the rural social scheme being involved, for example. Not all of these jobs need to be carried out by highly-trained individuals. The 80% energy grants could be for attic insulation. A person can be trained to provide attic insulation in a short time. That is a good job. Somebody who is maybe distanced from the labour market could move into that area.

Deputy Ward said that this scheme will reach those who need it most last. That is patently untrue. Deputy Bruton put paid to that. The warmer homes scheme will be expanded. It will be targeted at people who most need it, who live in lower-performing houses. They will have access to this retrofit scheme free of charge. We know there is a fuel poverty dividend for people who are at the lowest end of the socioeconomic spectrum. There is a health dividend too. Generally, the housing stock for people who live in these communities performs poorly. If one walks through those areas on a still evening, one can feel it in the air. People get cleaner, healthier environments both inside and outside their homes. It is tiered. It provides for those people who can afford to pay for it out of pocket. It leverages that private wealth and puts it to work. It also provides for full grants for people who cannot afford it. There are steppingstones in between, with the State-backed low interest loan, which is extremely important, and the 80% grants for people who might not be able to face into taking the full job on.

I agree that there are some issues with rented accommodation. We need to make sure that we are not creating intergenerational issues by pulling up the ladder behind us. There is a commitment in the Housing for All programme to implement minimum building energy rating standards where feasible. We need to follow up on that and be ambitious with the timeline. Putting that concern to one side, this is very ambitious. It gives certainty to a sector to allow it to scale up with confidence. It creates local jobs. It capitalises on our renewable energy resources. The Greens are in government and we are walking the walk, delivering the manifesto that we presented to people and the type of climate action that we promised in a meaningful and ambitious way. I welcome it.

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