The government is being urged to increase grants for house retrofits, given the sharp increase in the cost of raw materials in recent months.
Independent TD Seán Canney has made the call to increase the assistance to homeowners for works on existing houses, many of which are located in rural areas.
He said: “The cost of materials such as insulation and timber has skyrocketed in price over the last year.
“There is a scarce supply of insulation material for construction projects and this is driving up the cost of material.
“I want the government to take on board these extraordinary increases in the cost of retrofitting houses,” the deputy added.
SEAI funding
The Galway East TD said that grants available through the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) are no longer sufficient or attractive to homeowners for house retrofits.
“We need to increase the level of grant aid for houses if we are going to increase the energy efficiency in our homes.
“In light of the increase in material costs, government needs to review the incentives available for homeowners to ensure that the retrofit schemes encourage sufficient uptake and achieve the highest reduction of emissions.”
House retrofits
This National Home Retrofit Scheme from the SEAI is designed to encourage the development of ‘one-stop-shops’ and engage groups of private households, registered housing associations and local authorities who wish to participate in delivering energy efficiency upgrades, specifically in domestic buildings.
One of the aims is to upgrade homes towards achieving the Climate Action Plan home-energy retrofit targets.
Home type Grant amount Private Up to 35% Local authority homes Up to 35% Housing association homes Up to 50%
Another aim is to facilitate high standards of energy efficiency and renewable energy usage, thereby reducing fossil fuel usage, energy costs and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.