Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I know another Senator has arrived. On the SEAI, there is something I cannot understand. The witnesses spoke about the €96 million that has been invested in the HSE and the fact that ten buildings are being done. It seems to me that again, we are operating within a particular timescale. It seems that 2030 is almost the bar for how we achieve things. It seems to me that the buildings the Department has the keys to are those we should be working on or front-loading. We should be moving past this kind of pilot mindset within the public sector. It seems like the funding is being used to pilot this and try that. We need to move beyond five buildings or ten buildings. If we have 50 HSE buildings, surely the resources should not be the obstacle to that. When the ten buildings were identified, were there many others that were considered and could have been retrofitted if the resources had been there for the HSE? That is the public piece. It seems to me that when we are front-loading, we can create incentives to encourage individuals to retrofit their buildings but the State's buildings should be a no-brainer as the place to begin. The ultimate goal is not a lifestyle change for individuals but a sum reduction in the amount of emissions coming out of our country. That ultimate target - a physical reduction in emissions - is the piece we are losing sight of.

We heard that the Department is trying to set an example and encouraging households to do the same.

The missing bit in what I have heard is the other large actor in terms of energy demand, namely, the private sector. We know that large energy users represent an increase of more than 200% in terms of energy consumption. Even though we are sending the message that we are doing our best within our buildings, with the lights going off at night, etc., and we are encouraging households to do the same, we do not have stronger measures and regulations in respect of larger corporate actors and large energy users where energy usage levels are going up. Is there space for the SEAI to act here? I know the organisation is in the space of supporting the energy transition, but what other measures, besides incentives, could be employed? Are there regulatory measures or inputs into regulatory measures that the SEAI could be employing to try to address that very aspect? I ask this because people see this situation. It does not sit well with them that they are trying to do their bit, while they see large energy users escalating their consumption.