Dr Emma Howard

Just a really key point on Matt's point about universal free education.

So goods that have positive externalities like education should be free, should be heavily subsidised because when we've got a more educated workforce,

There are knock-on positive benefits to everyone in the economy.

When we look at fossil fuels, for example, they have negative externalities.

But we do need to be realistic.

But one of the things we need to do, and which I don't hear the government or Sinn Féin proposing at all, is the EU have said we need to increase electrification.

We need to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels.

And so where we should be increasing supports and subsidies are for the likes of solar panels, for electric vehicles, free or low cost loans for households.

Sorry, just one second.

I'm going to tell you, one of the problems with the subsidies is that they are flat rate subsidies.

None of them are means tested.

And a recent report from Trinity showed that if you look at the adoption of electric vehicles, heat pumps, solar panels, they are eight to nine times more common in high income areas than low income areas.

So for me to put solar panels on my roof, I get a £1,800 grant.

That's exactly the same grant that a household with half my household income.

And we need to change that.

That's what we should be focusing on.

So on the whether or not there'll be take up, I crunched some numbers looking at the who avails of the rented room scheme.

So if you look at the 2022 census, about 390,000 or 21% of households had two or more spare bedrooms.

And if you look at the, yeah.

Really?