Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

From a climate perspective, this is a no-brainer. We have already put the infrastructure in place. There is water and electricity and broadband is going in now. In climate terms, every square metre of new-build takes 1 tonne but the refurbishment of a square metre of an existing house takes half of that. There has already been an incredible level of interest in the scheme but we have set a cap of 2,000 premises by 2025. Conservatively, we are looking at somewhere between 90,000 and 160,000 vacant properties across the country. Can the Minister assure local authorities that, if demand is shown, funding will be made available to refurbish more than those 2,000 premises?

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