Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 1:

In page 8, between lines 39 and 40, to insert the following:“(VI) refurbishment that meets a per square foot value investment as set by regulations published by the Minister for properties that are pre 1963,”.

I welcome the Minister. I appreciate his urgency regarding this Bill but this amendment has the backing of this country's leading expert in building energy rating, BER. I am told this part of the Bill concerning housing which predates 1963 could be illegal in the context of European legislation. Those regulations call for a national policy to cover major renovation where more than 25% of the building envelope is being refurbished. There is no requirement for a member state to link this to rent caps but there is a requirement for all major renovations to be undertaken in a cost optimal way. In other words, the refurbishment being done should not be so expensive as to result in no practical realisable saving for occupants.

Will the Minister point to where I might find a report on cost optimal studies that may have been done for such buildings? My information is that no such study has ever been done. The same consultant advises that in his professional opinion, as one of the leading BER assessors in the country, it is almost impossible, in practical terms, to reach a seven point improvement in a building that dates from before 1963. The practical reasons include the walls of architecturally sensitive buildings, which can only be dry lined. To avoid condensation risk, that can only be done with specially formulated materials, such as calcium silicate boards, to absorb moisture from breathable brick structures.Those materials do not reach the U-value requirements, for example, that are required by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland to support grant-eligible measures for dry lining, meaning homeowners would have to take the costs involved. This appears to directly contradict the stated position of An Taoiseach, who indicated at the weekend that the Government will help to grant-support retrofitting. As matters stand, all these folks would be excluded from the grant scheme because of the nature of the materials used.

In these pre-1963 buildings, many internal features, such as architraves, skirting boards, etc., are conserved, making it absurdly expensive for all but those with the deepest of pockets to undertake the necessary dry-lining in an architecturally sensitive way. As there is a practical limit on the U-values to be achieved, there is also a practical limit on the renewable technologies that can be used in such homes to replace existing heating systems. We should remember that most of these homes were originally designed to be heated with coal and turf fires and that the walls are inherently breathable. As there is a U-value constraint-----