Ossian Smyth (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I compliment Deputy Ó Murchú on doggedly pursuing this issue on a number of occasions in the House and outside it. Progress is being made. Generally, schemes such as those at Carlinn Hall are localised, involving apartment complexes or residential housing estates. In the Government's plans for district heating, based on international best practice, we are focusing on larger-scale projects, supplying heat to a range of buildings that can include public, commercial and residential across an entire district, for example using the heat from the waste to energy plant in Poolbeg in the docklands and beyond.

Given the reliance on gas in communal schemes, the cost to households increased significantly last year. To support such households, the Government put in place multi-billion euro support packages, including the energy credit delivered by the Department. In terms of these communal schemes, at the request of the district heating steering group, a research project was initiated to assess the viability of retrofitting an existing communal heating system with a shallow geothermal energy source. An independent consultancy was commissioned by the SEAI to undertake this research. The report has now been drafted. It contains recommendations on heat network efficiency and options for low carbon heat alternatives, including costs of installation and operation. The report will be published in early October. It is important to note that the scheme in question is privately owned and managed and decisions to implement any of the recommendations would be a matter for the relevant parties to consider.

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