Lynn Boylan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for the response but we are conflating two different things. He spoke about the impact of climate action on different income groups. That is important to assess what the impact is but what I am asking about is assessing the contribution various groups within society make towards climate change. The facts are that high net-worth individuals contribute far more to the emissions profile than low-income households. It is important to understand what the impact of climate action is on different socioeconomic groups but I am asking that the CSO start to collect data on how wealth contributes to people's emissions. To give one example, the Minister of State says retrofitting is socially progressive. We do not know that because the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform has said it does not have the data to see how it reduces energy poverty. Looking at wealthy individuals, people who earn over €100,000 are able to avail of the grants. They are able to put solar panels on their roofs and get paid for the electricity they provide. They are able to get grants for their electric vehicles. That frees up more income for them to take more holidays and to buy more carbon-intensive products. We need to be looking at how high net-worth individuals are contributing to climate change, as well as looking at the socioeconomic impact of climate measures.