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Energy Policy

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 24 February 2022

Thursday, 24 February 2022

Ceisteanna (92)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh

Ceist:

92. Deputy Marc Ó Cathasaigh asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the steps he is taking to ensure the retrofit industry will be incentivised to grow to deliver the capacity for 500,000 homes by 2030; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9872/22]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí ó Béal (5 píosaí cainte)

Deputy Matthews will introduce Question No. 92.

The energy retrofit scheme, which was announced last week, has been broadly welcomed by almost everybody across the country. It is a huge Government investment and a long-term plan over the next decade for how we will retrofit our housing stock. Could the Minister outline to the House how he will attempt to encourage or incentivise those who are involved in the energy retrofitting scheme to participate in it, so that we can meet our capacity demand?

The first step was the launch of the scheme the week before last. I think it caught the public imagination. We know from our own constituencies and from elsewhere that the public is interested in this for a variety of reasons. It wants to play its part in helping to tackle climate change. It wants better, healthier and warmer homes. It has also seen the shocking scale of fuel bills, with the high prices of gas and oil. This is the mechanism.

Deputy O’Rourke asked earlier how we will meet our climate targets. Bill Gates famously said that most people overestimate what they can do in a year and underestimate what they can do in a decade. I think that will be the case in this area. We have set an ambitious target of 500,000 homes. I am confident that we will meet it. I am confident that we will get the workers to be able to do the work. We have committed €8 billion in funding. That is why I said to Deputy O'Rourke that we have the funding. Some €5 billion of that €8 billion is from the carbon tax. That will give industry the certainty. It will give the householder the support to make it happen. The key elements are in place. The SEAI got an additional 50 workers last year. It will get another 50 more this year. It is orchestrating it. That again gives me confidence that we will be able to do it. We have been 22 years at it. One could say we have been slow to warm up, but we are about to hit our stride.

More than anything else, the reason I am confident is because of the Irish householder and the average Irish home. People are now thinking that they have been putting this off. They were thinking "maybe, maybe not". Now, with 50% grants, they are saying, "maybe yes". That first initiative is the most important prerequisite. It is in people’s heads across the country at the moment. We will engage in a communication strategy to help them to go to the SEAI so that they can find out what the best solutions are for their homes. I think it will happen.

I agree with the Minister. My phone has been ringing off the hook since it was announced. That is really positive. I know of people in the trades who want to get involved in it. It sends a really clear signal for the next decade that this is a line of work that they can go into. My colleague Deputy Ó Cathasaigh visited the site of excellence in Waterford. He was impressed with it. The message to existing tradespeople is that a couple of days of training are needed in order to perfect their skill, so that we can advance retrofitting and energy upgrades. To people who are considering apprenticeships, I would highly recommend this to them. An area that we should consider is mature apprentices. I trained apprentices for many years. There is a real, clear path for mature apprentices who may be transitioning from high-carbon output jobs into other lines of work. There is a real, sustainable future, as well as good, long-term employment in well-paid and green jobs into the future for the next ten, 20 and 30 years.

I encourage anybody to think about getting into that line of work.

As I said in response to an earlier question, not only were the phones ringing off the hook from the customer side but I have been informed by the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science that the new centres of excellence have had a similar experience. One of the attractive aspects of this, as the Deputy pointed out, is that it does not necessarily require a protracted training scheme. Many people might be able to come into the industry for a relatively short number of weeks, go into the likes of the work I mentioned earlier, such as attic and cavity wall installation, start there and learn by doing. Those companies will be busy on other projects, so having mastered that, people can then extend their capabilities. This will be a lifelong process of learning and skills development. It will take us 30 years. This is a three-decade project, with 1.5 million homes having to be retrofitted. It makes sense for many people, who could get a well-paid, secure job and will be able to go to different places and apply the same skills. The Deputy is correct. This is a matter of lifelong learning, and small steps will bring many people into the industry.

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Written Answers are published on the Oireachtas website.
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