Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

We are significantly ahead of B2 targets. It is not just about retrofitting; the Deputy is right to focus on microgeneration where there has also been a phenomenal increase, both domestic and non-domestic, in the uptake of the grants. We are providing very significant grants to encourage people to avail of solar PV. Yes, we will go further on that and a range of different measures because the scale change we need to make is huge.

Another recent development, which I am sure the Deputy has been selling to her own constituency, is the new community supports we are providing for climate action at the community level. We accept that we have 600 to 700 sustainable energy communities but there has not been the follow-through into projects like solar and aggregated retrofitting solar and other renewable and low-carbon projects. "Yes" is the answer the question. We will be looking continuously to upgrade and improve, particularly in the area of community energy, to support turning those sustainable energy communities into delivery agencies for sustainable transport, sustainable energy, sustainable food and local environment improvements. The recent community grant applications provided through the climate action fund are somewhere in the region of €30 million and are intended to help communities make that leap.

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