Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Minister is probably aware that we have retrofitted only 12% of our BER B2 target for 2030 and 5% of the heat pump target. I acknowledge that the Minister stated heat pumps represent the optimal approach. For newer, efficient buildings, heat pumps are the obvious choice but the cost of making people's homes pump-ready makes an immediate switch impossible. Some 70,000 people rely on liquid fuels. One in three of them is over 65, and 59% of those with a liquid boiler live in rural Ireland. The current scheme will never be the answer for them, but biofuels are a good alternative. The Minister stated a proportion should be using biofuels. What proportion does he have in mind? The switch to biofuels can be much less disruptive for houses. It can be done in an afternoon rather than waiting for months. The price of upgrading a boiler could be as low as €300, by comparison with the cost of installing a heat pump in a property, which could be thousands upon thousands of euro.

Despite the obvious advantage of biofuel, combined with the failings of the current scheme, it is frustrating that more emphasis has not been placed on biofuel. What measures are being taken and what is the proportion?

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