Micheál Carrigy (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the package that was announced by the Government to make it easier and more affordable for homeowners to undertake home energy upgrades for warmer, healthier and more comfortable homes with lower energy bills. The measures address barriers to undertaking retrofits that have been reported by homeowners and those in the industry and reflect the step change in pace and scale that will be needed to achieve our target of 500,000 energy upgrades. The cost of these supports will be in the region of €8 billion of a commitment from the Government, from €267 million this year up to €2 billion in 2030. While I welcome the announcement, we need to ensure the programme will be rolled out quickly in the coming months. We must ensure everybody will be able to avail of the grants and, therefore, we must guarantee the immediate availability of low-interest loans.

In respect of our most vulnerable citizens, while I welcome the announcement that people on low incomes will be able to avail of these schemes free of charge, we need to see a major investment in the warmer homes scheme, which is targeted at households in fuel poverty. As I said recently in this Chamber, the average waiting time throughout the country for warmer homes scheme applications stands at approximately 26 months. In my county, 56 homeowners are awaiting works through the warmer homes scheme, while the average wait time in the county for applications allocated to contractors is currently 22 months. The retrofit scheme must seek to clear the backlog in the warmer homes scheme, given many of these people live in older homes that, in most cases, have no insulation.

On the RTB, which was mentioned, I fully agree we need a full overhaul of the board. It has no teeth or power and is not properly resourced. I will soon table a Commencement matter on the subject. The RTB should support not only renters but also landlords, given the vast majority of landlords own only one property. They are needed in order to make houses available for rent, so they too have to be protected.