Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for outlining progress. He referred to progress on retrofitting and heat pumps. We need to see more ambition and urgency if we are to meet the target of 500,000 homes retrofitted by 2030. We certainly support that, and we support strenuous efforts being made to reach the target. We are concerned that progress has not been swift enough in this area.

I will focus on the third action outlined in the Climate Action Plan 2023, to which the Minister referred to at the end of his response. That is the measure on district heating and the commitment, as the Minister stated, to generate up to 2.7 TWh of district heating by 2030. We have seen really serious delays here. The Minister stated that he will shortly submit the first report of the district heating steering group to the Government. Will he say when exactly that will happen? I have been submitting parliamentary questions on this matter for some months. In November, the Minister cited December 2022 as the date for when the report would be finalised. In February, he stated that it would be brought before the Government by the end of March. In April and May, his response was that the report would be delivered shortly. These delays are distressing for the people who are facing issues with district heating schemes, a matter about which I will speak later, and who need answers. More importantly, they are holding back the progress on district heating that is necessary if we are to reduce residential emissions by 40%.

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