Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank my colleague, Deputy O'Rourke, for tabling this important motion. The Government's retrofit plan is not equitable. It excludes a large proportion of middle-income households, specifically those who do not qualify for free upgrades but do not have the significant cash reserves needed to access the one-stop shop service.

The prioritisation of wealthier households also contributes to the growing delays for those living in energy poverty, as evidenced by the better energy warmer homes scheme. The scheme is aimed at the most vulnerable households but there are now 9,000 people on that waiting list and the wait time has shot up to 27 months. Between 2019 and the end of January 2022, only 118 homes in County Cavan and 85 in County Monaghan had been completed under this scheme.

It is critical that we put in place a fair retrofit plan that will help lower and middle-income households. Sinn Féin's alternative budget proposes a significant increase in the retrofitting budget for 2023 and targets funding towards those who need it most and the poorest, coldest and most carbon-intensive homes. We would replace the better energy warmer homes scheme with a new scheme for low- and middle-income households, which includes area-based components and increased funding from the current €109 million to €182 million next year. This scheme would see the continuation of free home energy upgrades for current eligible social welfare recipients but it would also introduce a tiered grant support, ranging from 65% to 100%-funded deep retrofits, for low- and middle-income households depending on income. We would increase the local authority retrofit budget by 50%, from €85 million to €127.5 million, as those in social housing are most likely to be at risk of energy poverty and, therefore, in greater need of home energy upgrades.

We also propose a new €50 million retrofitting scheme for homes that rely on solid fuels for heating, which would particularly benefit households in rural areas. It would help improve air quality and health and at the same reduce energy poverty. Sinn Féin aims to put alternatives in place first, unlike the Government approach to solid fuel homes which relies on punitive action, such as turf bans and carbon tax hikes.

We would also establish a local energy action fund that would provide €8 million for sustainable energy communities to fund local community-led retrofits and increase the funding for solar panels, bringing the budget for that purpose up to €24.5 million.

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