Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I ask the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, in light of Ireland's climate change targets and the likely impact of increased fuel prices on tenants in particular, what his plans are to accelerate the retrofitting of social housing and raising energy ratings of private rental accommodation while protecting existing tenancies.

We know Ireland has been a laggard with climate action and it also has some of the highest home energy costs in Europe. Those costs will necessarily need to increase because the price will need to reflect the real cost of carbon. This increase will particularly affect the 372,000 persons currently in receipt of fuel allowance. Many of those who would be most affected by higher fuel costs are those who are renting; they would be either tenants in public housing or in private rental with less control over their environments and energy consumption, as well as the energy rating of the home in which they live.

The Government is falling far short of its target for retrofitting. The climate plan sets out a goal of 500,000 deep retrofits, or 50,000 per year, and although many would see a higher number done, last year there were only 250 deep retrofits and 21,000 shallow retrofits. Over the past six years there have only been 70,000 forms of retrofit at all with local authority housing.

Will the Minister address both energy poverty and climate action by deeply retrofitting the 9% of all housing stock that is currently publicly owned or under public funding, either through local authorities or approved housing bodies? This is a chance to take a significant step through mitigation and adaptation. By dealing with 30 to 40 landlords within that 9% portion of housing stock, the Government could have access to 150,000 homes. I am asking for a doubling or trebling of the resource allocation for retrofitting of local authority housing. St. Vincent de Paul has recommended €50 million at a minimum to take a step in that regard.

There is also an urgent need for a new approach in retrofitting of private accommodation. Rents in Dublin are 34% higher than the previous peak and there is low take-up of current schemes by landlords. The proposals from St. Vincent de Paul suggest we need to increase the energy standards in the private sector through a combination of carrot and stick. We may need incentives. I know there are improvements in the new rental and tenancies Bill, but this still allows for the raising of rent, which creates a pressure. Many tenants would prefer to absorb higher fuel costs rather than risk an increase in rent. We must recognise that retrofitting must happen without an increase in rent for Part 4 long-term tenants as it is about raising the standard to at least a C rating in private rentals by 2030. We should offer incentives to landlords but where we do, we must ensure we do not see an increase in rent as well. In effect, we should help them with compliance rather than giving a mandate for an increase in rent.

I hope we can front-load action in this area in the upcoming budget. There are many forms of climate action that are difficult and have multiple stakeholders. There is much capacity for action in this area. If we do not front-load this, the price will be paid by individuals in fuel costs; it will be paid by tenants and the State's citizens. This is a message about mitigation, adaptation and just transition. I thank the Minister of State.