Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Many people want to retrofit their homes but the reality is that they cannot under the terms of the current scheme. Not many have €25,000 to hand. The whole system as it is currently operating is a disaster. It is a time-consuming financial headache. It is therefore little surprise that only 89 homes have been retrofitted out of a Government target of 500,000. We were supposed to see 62,500 homes retrofitted this year but only a fraction of a fraction have been completed. It is now very clear that the whole scheme and system need to be completely overhauled. Those on middle and low incomes must be allowed to access this scheme, which they are currently locked out of. This means more public funding for the scheme. I ask the Taoiseach and Government to respond to the clear failure of this scheme and to change it.

See this speech in context