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

I will be really quick because I will supply the Deputy with the written answer, but I should have said earlier that I have tasked the SEAI with looking at options with its grants. I do not mean increasing the amount of grants but seeing how we can break them down and make them more accessible. I am also doing that with electric vehicles and looking at options for low- to middle-income families, including scrappage and seeing whether there is anything we can do in rural parts. The heat pumps seem to have plateaued in relation to delivery last year, though not on new homes. They have been extremely successful on new homes. The retrofitting and installation of heat pumps can be extremely invasive for householders as well. The technology is not there yet with plug-in heat pumps, so unless there is a very deep retrofit on the home, people do not opt for them. I have asked the SEAI to come up with certain options for that on how we might be able to break down our grants with respect to what levels of work one needs to do. I have received a report on that and I am assessing it. I will bring forward options, including, most importantly, perhaps new options, for householders over the coming months.

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