Dáil debates

Thursday, 17 February 2022

National Retrofitting Scheme: Statements

 

2:10 pm

Photo of Emer HigginsEmer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to discuss this scheme. Contrary to its name, retrofitting is a modern and progressive move for us, as a Government, to be making. In light of constraints relating to energy and electricity, along with a growing need to address the climate emergency, this scheme is so welcome. Nationally, we are seeing a culture change with regard to energy efficiency and our desire to be climate conscious in all the decisions that we make. Whether it is buying an electric car or a hybrid vehicle or retrofitting one's home, the appetite for measures such as this has never been greater and that is a really welcome change.

However, as all present are aware, making the effort to reduce one's carbon footprint, be more energy efficient or have a climate-conscious home does not come for free. Far from it. If we want to make the changes necessary to address the climate emergency, we certainly need to bring everyone - people of all financial means - along with us. We need to make it a viable decision for everyone to introduce climate change mitigation measures. The measures in the national retrofitting scheme will help to address the barriers in undertaking energy upgrades that so many homeowners experience, as well as the barriers experienced by those working in the industry. They also reflect the step-change needed in pace and scale of delivery in order to achieve that target of 500,000 home energy upgrades by 2030.

I really welcome the range of measures the scheme will seek to introduce. These are measures aimed at driving demand for retrofitting, expanding the size and capacity of the supply chain and making retrofits more affordable, which is crucial. It is important that people understand the return they can get from retrofitting their home and how quickly they will begin to see those returns. In the context of the 80% grant for attic and cavity wall insulation, I understand people will make their money back and begin to save on their investment within two years, which is really great.

A criticism I have heard from various constituents relates to the vast cost difference between the shallow and deep retrofits. I have heard many arguments for an extra scheme somewhere in the middle of the two which might provide for a greater level of retrofitting than the shallow retrofit but be less expensive than the deep retrofit. I do understand that in some cases there is little merit in updating the windows in a home, as such, if the walls are letting out a large amount of heat, for example. For many people, however, doing all of this in one go is simply not possible, so I very much advocate for individual window grants under the national retrofitting scheme as windows are an issue about which I am contacted a lot in my office.

I know many people who are vulnerable or on lower incomes have benefited from the Better Energy, Warmer Homes Scheme and, indeed, the one-off exceptional needs payment when heating is an issue. I welcome the free energy upgrades the scheme will provide for those at risk of energy poverty. However, these schemes do not necessarily help the squeezed middle. I refer to the people who are earning average or very good wages but finding it difficult to make ends meet because of the rising cost of living. More needs to be done to help these people to invest in their homes and proof them against climate change. More needs to be done beyond attic and wall insulation. As I stated, I really welcome the scheme and the range of provisions in it, but I would like to see more in the way of specific window grants and more for middle-income earners. I hope this is something the Minister and his Department will consider going forward.

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