Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

As is always the case with retrofitting, there is a significant volume of figures. Some attention to detail is required in order to drill down into them. I repeat a point I made previously, namely, that it is not entirely impressive to continually reference a benchmark of last year when we had a lockdown. In that light, an increase of 150% is not as impressive as it might sound.

The Minister referred to the SEAI's expectation that 20,000 attic insulations will be completed by the end of the year. In 2011, we completed 52,000 attic insulations. We know there is low-hanging fruit in this regard. There are 162,000 cold homes. If these homes only got attic and cavity wall insulation, it would be a significant help.

Regarding the 80% grant, the Minister said that the number of applications has trebled. How many applications have there been? How many specific programmes of works have been delivered under the 80% grant? I am inclined to believe there is a significant opportunity for further roll-out.

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