Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I fully support the very ambitious programme the Minister has launched. There will be major challenges in delivering it. We are speaking about more than 500,000 homes benefiting over a period. It is important that we look at the existing structures and the defects that exist to make sure we can deliver in a timely manner. Recently, I spoke to someone who applied to the SEAI more than two years ago to get approval for work they wanted to do in the house. It was not until two years later that the house was inspected and they could start the work. There is a need to have a review every six months on what progress is made on inspections and the delivery of projects. If there is a need for changing some aspects of the programme we should not be afraid to do that to meet the challenges that will be posed by it.

We have a challenge with the workforce and the availability of people to deal with it. This morning I had a call from someone trying to get a wheelchair ramp put into a house. I know this is a slightly different area. I have gone through quite a number of contractors and no one is available. The individual has approval for a grant but no one is prepared to do the work at present because of the schedules they have. This is a problem we need to address. How can we bring more people in to carry out this work?

There is also an issue with houses built prior to 1970. They do not have cavity walls but cavity blocks. This is a huge problem. They were built between 1959 and 1970. There is a big challenge in trying to provide heat insulation. Work must be done on the outside and some work can be done on the inside. It is a challenge. I have come across estates where all of the houses have been built in that way.

As a result there is no heat retention whatsoever.

I also wish to raise with the Minister the issue of houses that were built by housing agencies 25 or 30 years ago. I have come across a number of cases where elderly people are living in these houses. Very little retrofitting work has been done to them by the housing agencies involved. I ask that the Department engage with those housing agencies to see what can be done around getting work done, especially where there are elderly people involved.

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