Following the announcement yesterday (Tuesday, February 8) of a package of supports to assist homeowners retrofit their homes with energy upgrades, concerns have been raised that it does not go far enough for those on lower income thresholds.
The government said yesterday that the new measures will address barriers to undertaking energy upgrades (retrofits) reported by homeowners, with a view to achieving a target of 500,000 home energy upgrades by 2030.
The National Retrofit Plan identifies a range of measures aimed at driving demand for retrofits; expanding the size and capacity of the supply chain; and making retrofits more affordable.
These measures include:
- Increasing grant levels under the National Home Energy Upgrade Scheme from 30%-35% to 50% for the cost of a typical ‘deep retrofit’;
- ‘One stop shops’ to offer project management service, including access to financing;
- Increasing the total number of free upgrades from 177 per month to 400 per month for those at risk of energy poverty (eligibility criteria for this support will be extended to include those in receipt of Disability Allowance over six months and who have a child under seven;
- A ‘special enhanced’ grant aid equivalent to 80% of the typical cost for attic and cavity wall insulation;
- An exchequer investment of €8 billion to 2030 to allow “supply-chain scale up”.
Grant supports for homeowners that want to take a ‘step-by-step’ approach to upgrading their homes have also been increased under the new measures.
The grant for heat pumps has increased from €3,500 to €6,500 and the rate for external wall insulation has increased from €6,000 to €8,000 for a detached house. These figures specifically relate to grant amounts for this ‘step-by-step’ approach.
Despite these figures, the new measures do not go far enough, according to one TD.
Speaking this afternoon, independent TD Michael Fitzmaurice welcomed the plans, but said that “serious concerns around the reality of their delivery remains”.
“Any scheme which makes it more affordable to carry out energy improvement works on your home must be welcomed. But there are serious concerns out there that the scheme doesn’t go far enough for those on lower income thresholds, who would not be able to cover the remaining 50% of the costs of a deep retrofit to their home,” he stated.
The Roscommon-Galway TD stressed: “Many of these families may be struggling to get by on a week-by-week basis and have bills to pay. Loans may not be an option either, as they may have already gone down that avenue for a car or to help with college fees for children.
“I am concerned that the level of spin doctoring employed by government here will try and gloss over the real issues. If this scheme is to be effective, sufficient funds have to be allocated to it. Applicants on a lower income must receive sufficient support to make the scheme viable for them.”
Fitzmaurice also noted that the current scheme which in place at the moment is seeing as backlog, explaining that one of his constituents may have to wait between 18 and 24 months for a surveyor to be allocated.