Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am considering all options. There is a new Administration and new Minister. I can see where we have done very well in retrofitting. I have already said very clearly that heat pumps represent the optimal solution but not the only one.

We have got to carry out a very detailed assessment of the supply of biofuels, including biofuels used in transportation. If we are to accelerate their use across residential dwellings, what level of supply can we actually achieve at this stage?

The RHO will be very important. It will be a mechanism to really accelerate the use of alternative fuels. We have an objective within the RHO to support the delivery of our commitment to producing 5.7 TW of indigenous biomethane by 2030. I will be straight with the Deputy: we are way off that at the moment and that is why I have got to consider all our targets, particularly for renewables. In some areas, such as SPV, we are doing very well. I take the point on deep retrofitting and its cost but I am right now carrying out an assessment with the SEAI on the grants currently available and how we might be able to alter them and make them more accessible for people, particularly in this area.

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