ONLY 60 out of an eligible 5,500 local authority homes in Limerick will be deep retrofitted in 2022.
That’s according to Limerick Rural Ireland Independent TD Richard O’Donoghue.
“They simply do not have the labour to deal with the issues that are going to be in front of them,” he said in the Dáil this week.
Recently, the Government announced that it expected 20,000 home energy upgrades to happen across Limerick by 2030, at a projected cost of €300 million. Deep Retrofitting of homes allows them to achieve a higher BER Energy rating, thus reducing costs associated with heating.
Having earlier attended a presentation of the scheme by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), the Limerick TD said that that the SEAI figures were based on outdated costings.
“I asked them about the example provided of a three-bed semi-detached house. They told me that it was based on the cost of doing the house last year. They said it would cost €50,000 to carry out the retrofit. To be honest, this figure could easily be more like €70,000,” he said.
Deputy O’Donoghue also claimed that all the Government has done in terms of the introduction of the retrofitting scheme is drive inflation through the roof because there is a lack of supply.
“I know that because I am a contractor. I see it every day.
“The Government is so out of touch that it has increased inflation with the retrofit scheme. The current grant available is only €23,500. This should be more like €35,000.
“Costs are rising daily, while the grant stays the same. The grants are wholly inadequate,” he concluded.
