6th April 2017
The Allocation of €5 million to the the deep retrofit homes scheme this year will fund major energy efficiency upgrades to homes and low carbon heating system.
Administered by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), the scheme will cover up to half the costs of individual homeowners.
The scheme was launched at the 2017 SEAI roadshow by Minister of Communications, Climate Action and the Environment, Denis Naughten.
A report by the EPA called for replacing fossil fuels with renewable sources to power and heat our homes and drive Ireland toward decarbonisation by 2050.
According to Minister Naughten, there will be no grants for fossil fuel under the scheme with Ireland as Ireland move to an age of renewable heating technology.
By deep retrofitting buildings, much larger energy savings can be made while bringing a home as close as possible to Nearly Zero Energy Building standards.
Data from the European Environment Agency had shown that daily household energy use in Ireland is the second-highest in Europe at just under 50kWh daily. Also, 50 per cent of Ireland’s housing stock were estimated to have a Building Energy Rating (BER) of D or lower in 2014.
“We need to develop a range of solutions that will work for everyone,” stated Minister Naughten, “but we need to develop, from the bottom up, a range of solutions to create the evidence base for what really works in Ireland.”
It comes a month after the announcement of Ireland’s National Climate Mitigation Plan, which is five years behind must be in place by June, and the National Dialogue on Climate Change.
While Minister Naughten sees the deep retrofit initiative as a further chance “to convince people of the urgency of climate change,” some feel the government should be showing real leadership on environmental issues.
Green Party leader, Eamonn Ryan previously criticized Ireland for not having climate ambition and Europe is noticing the lack of meaningful effort.
Minister Ryan pointed out that there is €200 billion fund for clean energy from the European Commission that Ireland can avail of. This could encourage investment in renewable energy, charging networks for cars and investment in both solar and wind energy.
Minister Naughten’s speech attempted dispel doubts surrounding his department’s climate action plans claiming they would endeavor,”to bridge the chasm between global challenge and national responsibility.”
Some environmentalists feel the department’s plans and schemes may not be enough.
Friends of the Earth director, Oisin Coghlan felt aggrieved by the lack of urgency and puzzle over the lack of thought. He accused the action plan of not being enough
The EPA and the Climate Change Council both feel that a “transformational change” is required for Ireland to become a low carbon society.
Details of the retrofit scheme can be found by clicking here.
