Results 3,261-3,280 of 10,790 for speaker:Matt Carthy

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Industry (21 Mar 2023)

Matt Carthy: 1592. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he is aware of any need for fencing in equine settings to be creosoted; the basis of such; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13824/23]

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Financial Statements of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland: Discussion (9 Mar 2023)

Matt Carthy: I apologise that I was not here earlier. I was launching a report with another committee. On the warmer homes scheme, a number of previous speakers may have referred to the backlog. What is the current backlog?

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Financial Statements of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland: Discussion (9 Mar 2023)

Matt Carthy: When would the applications have been received?

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Financial Statements of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland: Discussion (9 Mar 2023)

Matt Carthy: Going by last year, there were approximately 10,000 applications.

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Financial Statements of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland: Discussion (9 Mar 2023)

Matt Carthy: How many houses were retrofitted under the scheme last year?

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Financial Statements of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland: Discussion (9 Mar 2023)

Matt Carthy: We can see a bit of a problem there, can we not?

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Financial Statements of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland: Discussion (9 Mar 2023)

Matt Carthy: In 2021, we were completing fewer retrofits than were applied for, and that is even though there was a very low number.

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Financial Statements of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland: Discussion (9 Mar 2023)

Matt Carthy: That is not my understanding of the Covid restrictions. The Covid restrictions permitted construction activity.

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Financial Statements of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland: Discussion (9 Mar 2023)

Matt Carthy: I understood it to mean that this scheme would have been eligible. Is Dr. Byrne suggesting that no warmer homes scheme work was done during those 18 months?

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Financial Statements of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland: Discussion (9 Mar 2023)

Matt Carthy: How could some be done?

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Financial Statements of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland: Discussion (9 Mar 2023)

Matt Carthy: Dr. Byrne gave a couple of different answers there. Does he accept that it was not the Covid restrictions that prevented work from taking place?

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Financial Statements of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland: Discussion (9 Mar 2023)

Matt Carthy: This is important because it has been set down as a key objective for Dr. Byrne's organisation. We have a large backlog and we have not been meeting the demand, and Dr. Byrne's rationale for that is Covid.

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Financial Statements of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland: Discussion (9 Mar 2023)

Matt Carthy: How big of an element is it, as a percentage?

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Financial Statements of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland: Discussion (9 Mar 2023)

Matt Carthy: Okay. Dr. Byrne is right that applications trebled and output doubled, but in both instances there were more applications than completions. I am trying to ascertain whether the difficulty was that the contractors were not doing enough, that we did not have enough of them or that it was Covid. Dr. Byrne front-loaded Covid as his explanation when I first asked the question. I want to get a...

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Financial Statements of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland: Discussion (9 Mar 2023)

Matt Carthy: We were talking about vulnerable-----

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Financial Statements of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland: Discussion (9 Mar 2023)

Matt Carthy: Is there no capacity to add contractors?

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Financial Statements of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland: Discussion (9 Mar 2023)

Matt Carthy: Will this tender allow new applicants to come in over the scheme's lifetime?