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

I am glad to hear the Minister commit to publishing the report on district heating in the next two weeks. That means it will be published this month, which is very welcome. We have heard really distressing stories from people in our constituency of Dublin Bay South who have been affected by overcharging in respect of district heating schemes. That has to be addressed. More broadly, I agree with the Minister about the immense potential for district heating in terms of emission reductions. The delays have been unconscionable. The Minister spoke about our constituency. The long delay in developing the district heating scheme to draw heat from the Poolbeg incinerator is extraordinary. It has supposedly been coming on stream for years now. I visited the incinerator and saw the infrastructure there that is ready to be expedited. What we are looking for is: the Commission for Regulation of Utilities review of district heating to the expedited; the capping of prices in district heating schemes of domestic rates; the publication of the steering group report that the Minister committed to; and, in particular, greater urgency in the rolling out of schemes. It was very welcome to see the development in Tallaght in April but we need to see that Poolbeg scheme come online very swiftly because it has been so long-awaited and could make such a significant difference to families and households across the community.

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