Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)

The Deputy is entirely correct. People are fundamentally good, and they fundamentally want to do what is good for them, their families, their kids, the next generation and their communities. Everybody wants clean air. Everybody wants a better environment. Everybody wants a better climate. We instinctively want to pass on our planet to the next generation in better shape than we inherited it. That is how people work,. Government and State schemes need to comprehend that as well.

There is no doubt in my mind that the Deputy is correct that there are people who want to make changes in how they live, how their home is heated and how they operate their farm, perhaps, but who still worry or who find that there are barriers in relation to that. As a Government, we have put our money were our mouth is, with a very significant increase in funding for energy efficiency schemes for homes, to use the example the Deputy has given. The challenge we face is to make sure that this is matched by a flexibility, rather than a rigidity, and the understanding, as the Deputy rightly says, that there is an affordability issue for many people, who are perhaps watching this today. They will say, “I would love to change the car to an EV” or “I would love to do the retrofitting but I am worried about affordability.” We are very conscious of that, and we intend to take steps.

It is not about lecturing people on climate. They do not need to be lectured. They understand it. They get it. They need to be supported in making the transition. That is in all our interests.

See this speech in context