Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Specifically on B4, residential and community retrofit programmes, I have received replies to parliamentary questions on the costs associated with the average retrofit costs bringing units to a B2 rating. There appears to be a very significant difference within the one-stop-shop service. I do not know if the Minister has the figures in front him. The average cost in 2022 was around €34,000. In 2023 it was €47,000 and so far in 2024, it was €57,000. That compares to the fully-funded energy upgrades which went from around €24,000 to €27,000 down to €25,000. The one-stop-shop seems to be a real outlier in terms of the cost of works to get to a B2. Is the Minister aware of that? Is he concerned about it? Can he account for it? Does it impact the ability to fund the 500,000 B2 units to 2030? Is it a feature of the type of work being done or is it the case that there is price gouging within the sector? Has the Minister any other answer for it? I take on board the challenge of scaling up and doing it at pace, getting contractors and so on but nevertheless, we need to ensure there is some containment on costs.