Naoise Ó Muirí (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)

In the week when the two-week COP30 summit started without, regrettably, the involvement of the USA, it is vital that we remain steadfast and committed to and that we redouble our efforts to hit our climate targets.

The Joint Committee on Climate, the Environment and Energy has been looking at this topic. In that context, I want to raise the issue of decarbonising home heating. Perhaps the most challenging barrier that we see is the need to install 400,000 heat pumps in existing homes by 2030. This is a huge challenge, especially in light of the disruption and costs involved in fitting heat pumps in older and, in particular, rural homes. The grants and the various VAT changes relating to heat pumps have been in place since 2021, but we are still way off what we need to hit by 2030. The reality is that for many homeowners, it is not practical to replace a working oil or gas boiler with a heat pump, particularly when it comes to the need for a sealed house. We can look to our counterparts in Europe to see what we can do to make heat pumps more attractive. Ultimately, however, we may have to face the reality that it is simply not economically feasible to roll out heat pumps to our older housing stock. As a result, we may need a realistic alternative.

District heating is another key pillar that we need to accelerate in line with the programme for Government. In the context of the Dublin district heating system, with which I was familiar as a city councillor, to use heat from the waste energy in Poolbeg to serve the Docklands, 90% of the infrastructure has been in place for years but the scheme has never been activated. District heating is capital intensive and the payback is long, so strong Government support is needed, particularly early doors, at the feasibility stage. The SEAI raised the need for some changes in a review in 2024, which I welcome. District heating is a good win for the country. We can leverage waste heat from data centres, dare I say it, and use waste to energy and anaerobic digestion. If done properly, a lot of it involves low-carbon heating. It would be very positive if we could use it. The waste energy in Poolbeg is just waiting to be used.

On liquid fuels, 400,000 households have liquid fuel delivered to their homes. We need to make sure they are in the net for decarbonisation. Introducing biofuels is part of the mix, but what is the long-term solution for those 400,000 homes, many of which are in rural areas and which have fuel delivered by trucks to their homes?

See this speech in context