Carol Nolan (Laois-Offaly, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The SEAI is the State agency designated as the national retrofit delivery body. It has received well in excess of €1 billion in funding over the past decade, yet it continues to operate a system characterised by significant delays between application, approval and the works being carried out.

The funding it will receive between now and 2030 will be in the region of €8 billion and half of that money is to be used for the energy-poor sector. What I fear, however, is that the scale of ambition and the work being placed on the SEAI will not be reached in any meaningful way. I am aware of pensioners in my constituency who are waiting long periods for essential works to be carried out. I am calling for more urgency to be given to this whole issue because it is one thing talking about retrofitting but if the action is not there, it is not good enough. I ask the Minister to take immediate action on that because I know of pensioners who are waiting very long periods.

I wish to raise the issue of the proposed ban on oil and gas heaters in homes. This was flagged recently and it struck me as the final nail in the coffin in terms of the Green Party's relationship with reality. We in the Rural Independent Group know from our briefings with the Alliance for Zero Carbon Heating that such a policy would place a massive financial burden on families across Ireland if their existing boiler were to fail unexpectedly and they were forced to switch to a heat pump. The Minister, Deputy Ryan, has informed the Oireachtas that the average cost of the deep retrofit that is necessary to make a home heat pump ready is €56,000, while the average grant for these projects is less than €20,000. It is just not going to work. We need more input from the Government. It is as if the Government is making life very difficult for people. The key message people are receiving from the Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael parties, which are very cosy with the Green Party and have endorsed its policies, is that the green medicine will be forced down their necks whether they like it or not.

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