Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I am glad the Deputy went back to 2011 because there was a massive increase in retrofitting of buildings in the period 2008 to 2011. We were in government at the time and I was the Minister responsible. I thought the roll-out and expansion of insulation of housing was critical. It fell back in subsequent years for a variety of complex reasons. Perhaps it was not centre stage. It is one of those projects that you can easily put off because it might be seen as a hassle. There are questions about what to do in technical terms and what is the right or the wrong thing.

Regarding the figures relating to the doubling or trebling in the context of what happened previously, the level of increase is primarily from what was a base even before Covid. We were not doing anything like those numbers even back in 2018 and 2019, so there has been a significant ramping up. We are meeting the targets we set in the climate action plan. That is important. People might be despondent about climate change and feel that we cannot do anything. What we are showing with retrofitting is that we can do something. I am of the view that it is only warming up - excuse the pun. The insulation of those 27,000 houses this year will influence the owners of neighbouring properties. We will get the 37,000 completions next year and go higher the following year and the year after that. It is on an upward path, which is where we need to keep it.

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