Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy O'Rourke for raising this important issue. It emphasises very clearly how inaccessible retrofitting is for many households around the country and certainly for those who need it most.

Gas and electricity bills are already crippling and as temperatures start to drop as we get closer to winter, more and more families will be forced to choose between keeping the house warm or putting food on the table. That is a dehumanising decision nobody should have to make but is one thousands across Ireland will have to because of the Government's failure to provide adequate supports for low and middle-income households throughout the country. Retrofitting homes is no longer a matter of urgency but a matter of basic necessity for many. For many people, the State has left it too late and they will have to endure a winter of record energy prices and if they cannot afford them they will have to choose between living in a cold, dark room or sacrificing other necessities. That is not hyperbole on my part, as those figures are captured by a multitude of different organisations, including the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. It was also captured by Social Justice Ireland. It demonstrated earlier this year that 581,334 people are living in poverty in this country. They were already people who were choosing to go without food so their children did not have to, which is a choice nobody should have to make. These are families who did not have access to two warm coats and who did not have money left over at the end to have a basic thing like a night out with a friend. These are the families who are going to need it most. These are the vulnerable people who feel these shortcomings most. The shortcomings will be felt by families already experiencing poverty, including one-parent households, migrant families and all those already living on the margins. Estimates show that almost half of households could now be in energy poverty. That is only set to get worse with more price hikes coming into effect in the next few weeks. For people to pay any more than they already are is simply unimaginable.

The Government's inaction may have failed many this winter but we cannot sit idly by and find ourselves in the same circumstances for the next one. Earlier this year the engineer in charge of Dublin City Council’s retrofit programme said it would take 12 years to complete the retrofitting of the city’s social homes at current funding levels. That is completely unacceptable. Where else did we hear about 12 years? How many of us, the Green Party included, went out three years ago and campaigned to an electorate based on it being 12 years until a point of no return for climate change and biodiversity loss? We said we would demonstrate urgency yet a Dublin City Council official is telling us it will be 12 years before we can enact a retrofitting programme. That is not acceptable by any measure. This needs to be addressed by doubling the retrofitting grant in the budget next week. Bringing up a home’s energy rating is a huge financial undertaking, even with the help of the SEAI’s current grants and so we must see adequate investment in next week’s budget. However, grants alone are not enough to ensure energy security for all those who are struggling. Low-interest loans should be made available for households that still require them to complete their retrofit as too many households have been priced out of the scheme. As well as providing adequate grants and affordable loans for all those who need them, we need to see an investment in training and retraining programmes to build a workforce large enough to retrofit homes as soon as possible. All the funding in the world means nothing if there are no workers to complete the upgrades and that this has not been factored in is a sad indictment of this Government.

Just as we do not want to find ourselves in a situation next winter where households are still facing a crisis, it is crucial we do not fall short of our climate action targets in 2030. We cannot put off reducing our carbon emissions. This leaves us with not one but two vital reasons to retrofit properties around the country as quickly as possible. We simply cannot separate the cost-of-living crisis from the climate crisis. The Government has set a target of retrofitting 5,000 homes by 2030 but as my colleague Deputy Whitmore said, and I agree, there is little clarity on how this can be achieved and we need to see genuine commitment and a realistic plan to achieve these goals in writing in next week’s budget. As energy companies rake in profits from this broken market while families find themselves in crisis, we must also see a substantial windfall tax to reroute those profits to speed up retrofits for the households that directly need it. People woke up last week and saw the ESB had made €1.5 billion more than it did this time last year. Imagine seeing that while wondering how many pairs of jumpers you will have to wear not to be freezing in the cold winter months ahead. We are in a crisis and need a response that is in keeping with that.

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