Lisa Chambers (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am aware of some of the statistics the Minister has quoted. We were coming from quite a low base so when we see a 150% increase or a doubling in numbers from 4,000 to 8,000, it is positive and going in the right direction. However, genuinely from my experience of applying through the one-stop shops, I know that shopping around brings back the same quotes. There are issues. Making an application is required in order to get a quote. I ask the Minister to have his Department check how many of those applications resulted in people actually commencing works. I guarantee that the quotes coming back are astronomical. They are unaffordable. The word on the ground, talking to tradespeople, is that people now dismiss the retrofit scheme saying that people are creaming it, they are charging huge money and it is not the way to go. It is better applying for individualised grants and doing it yourself because you are not going to save anything. That is the feedback given to us by builders on the ground. If that is not the case, then that attitude needs to be addressed because the message filtering out throughout the country is that going through the one-stop shops is not value for money.

I appreciate there will be a loan scheme, but with a loan comes interest and a cost of borrowing. That cost of borrowing is being put on somebody who does not have the money in the first place. This will deter people from choosing to do the retrofit, particularly those in their 50s or 60s and those in retirement. They will just say "That is not for me." I genuinely believe there are issues with the scheme. People want to do the right thing but the figures being quoted, not just by one one-stop shop but across the board, are too high. If I have one message to the Minister, it is to check how many applications resulted in work being commenced.