I wish to extend my condolences to the family of Seamus Carroll, the usher who passed away.

I acknowledge what Senator Goldsboro mentioned earlier about PV solar panels for medically vulnerable individuals. She had a number of questions and was seeking a debate. It is something I spoke about in the House last night during our motion on fuel and energy supports and it is something I have raised here repeatedly. I even tabled a Commencement matter with the Minister of State, Deputy Dooley. It is a great scheme in which the batteries are now going to be included. Senator Goldsboro was wondering how it is being promoted and how the message is getting out there. There is an onus on us to do an awful lot of work on that. It is something I have raised in the constituency and on which I have received very good feedback. I know there are people within the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI, who will support public representatives in getting those allocations for medically vulnerable individuals.

That leads me on to another issue that I did not raise last night during the energy and fuel discussion, which is external wall insulation. It is a substantial business. In 2023, 6,100 homes received SEAI-supported external wall installation, with an average cost in excess of €20,000. The market is worth in excess of €100 million per year. When we have a market worth that much and a Government that has money supporting a scheme like that, and when there is pressure on the wider community to retrofit their homes, sometimes standards can lapse. I am worried that the National Standards Authority of Ireland, NSAI, might not be doing enough in ensuring the quality of the external wall insulation that is going in. There are a number of stages that qualified installers have to complete. There is project-specific design but there is also preparation, boarding, base coat, finish and completion. There are photographs and evidence of materials used that have to be registered the whole way along that process. However, I have been led to believe that installers of this external wall insulation have the opportunity once a year when it comes to their NSAI renewal to select the project they wish to submit and put forward as evidence of them meeting those standards. I do not want us sitting in this Chamber in ten or 15 years’ time looking at an external wall insulation redress scheme. We need to ensure that the standards are in place today and that the standards that are in place are monitored and kept up to scratch with. I call for a debate in this House with the Minister on external wall installation but also with regard to a lot of the supports that are there.

Finally, I congratulate Senator Brady on taking his maiden voyage in the Leader's seat. I know he will do a wonderful job.