Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I agree. We have all seen district heating systems and the idea of using waste heat from big industrial operations. That is a definite win. The problem with these is that they were communal heating systems that were obviously fed initially by biomass and, for multiple reasons, possibly even planning laws and so on, which all need to be looked at and which I have corresponded with the Minister on, they were moved to gas. From an environmental point of view, it was a complete disaster and, from a cost point of view, it has become a nightmare. We need this SEAI report as soon as possible. We need to see what the possibilities are.

We also need to make sure there are grant schemes that can deliver because, at the end of the day, the Minister is talking about a management company and residents having to try to get agreement and having to engage a third party to put in this solution. We need to make sure we have all the parts in place to facilitate people who are willing to do whatever is necessary, because obviously what is happening at the minute is not sustainable. We need rules to make sure we do not have these disaster communal heating systems being fed by gas and more being built, because I hear that is happening.

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