Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I acknowledge what the Deputy is saying. He is alluding to the fact that there are so many applications and the capacity of the scheme to provide responses more quickly. There is no doubt, comparing it to before this Government came into power, about the contrast in the volume of retrofitting now going on. An entire new industry is being created as a result of guaranteed funding over the next decade, through the national development plan. It gives the industry confidence in the retrofitting area. We want those in more disadvantaged income groups to get the benefits of retrofitting as quickly as possible.

The Deputy identified a key point which many people who are denying climate change, or who are less than enthusiastic about it, do not address. There is an inexplicable link between climate change and public health. If one takes fossil fuels out of cars and buses, one will have a much healthier atmosphere in cities and towns for people breathing the air. Likewise, there are significant public health benefits for people from retrofitting.

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