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

Since the Government came to office, expenditure on this has increased from €40 million to €210 million. Members should be honest. Is that not a significant and incredible increase? The great thing we know is that thanks to the carbon tax, which Deputy Paul Murphy opposes, it will increase by the same amount next year. It is predictable, so you can get the workers and reduce waiting times because we set up a system whereby we know it will grow every year. We are going to devote half the money we raise in carbon tax to retrofitting to the poorest homes. This is deeply popular.

At the same time, we have also changed the nature of the work that is done. It has gone from shallow to deep retrofitting. When we came to office, the average payment was €1,200. It is now €24,000, so we are going much further in the houses we go into with double the amount of spending in each home. The scheme is hugely popular. There are loads of examples in this regard. I would love to be able to go into every single house tomorrow. During the Government's term of office to date, the number of applications rose from 5,682 initially to 13,983 last year. That is because it is 100% grant-funded into the privately owned houses of people who are at real risk of fuel poverty. This is the right way to target it. We all agree that this is the right thing to do. Anyone who says that an increase from €40 million to €210 million is not significant and that we should get rid of the funding to facilitate that can show me from where they are going to get the money and indicate how they are going to provide for people. How are they going to continue growing it the way we are growing it? What we are doing is significant and is dramatically improving both people's health and their homes.

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