Extend free home retrofitting upgrades to renters, SVP tells politicians

Saint Vincent de Paul head of social justice Dr Tricia Keilthy: 'Our primary recommendation in this area is that free upgrades are extended to private rented households in receipt of Hap, conditional on a long-term lease.' Picture: Leon Farrell/Photocall Ireland

Home retrofitting should be targeted towards renters as well as homeowners as they can be at greater risk of energy poverty, living in cold, mouldy homes, an Oireachtas committee has heard.

Representatives from St Vincent de Paul said some households most in need of having their home retrofitted are not accounted for in national retrofitting plans.

“We know an energy inefficient home is an expensive home to live in,” its head of social justice Dr Tricia Keilthy told the Oireachtas social protection committee.

“A clear pathway for the private rental sector needs to be prepared. This will require a sensitive balance to ensure adverse consequences such as ‘renovictions’ are avoided.” 

Renovictions describes a situation where the landlord evicts a tenant due to substantial renovations on a property. 

Sinn Féin TD Paul Donnelly said a system to help tenants upgrade the home they live in, such as with better insulation, would be a case of “public money going to private landlords”.

“We have to be careful we don’t enable people to then flip that house,” he said. “I’d be very worried and concerned about that.” 

Committee chair Denis Naughten said every politician was concerned about public money being misused but this was addressed in the separate refurbishment grant scheme where there is a clawback built into it.

Dr Keilthy said: “Our primary recommendation in this area is that free upgrades are extended to private rented households in receipt of Hap, conditional on a long-term lease.

If it’s a difficult thing to solve, it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try and solve it.

Also appearing at the committee were senior management figures from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), who said 2024 would see the largest ever budget for the Warmer Homes scheme, at €210m.

SEAI head of retrofitting Dr Ciaran Byrne said almost 6,000 energy poor homes had retrofits on the Warmer Homes scheme last year, and it is hoped to ramp that up again this year. Picture: iStock

The SEAI said there were over 18,000 on its waiting list, with an average of 1,100 applications a month. Its head of retrofitting Dr Ciaran Byrne said almost 6,000 energy poor homes had retrofits on the Warmer Homes scheme last year, and it is hoped to ramp that up again this year. 

Priority on this scheme is given towards the most energy inefficient homes with a BER rating of E, F and G.

“So, while scheme delivery has increased substantially pointing to its success, the exponential increase in applications brings challenges,” he said.

While the Government has a target of 500,000 homes retrofitted by 2030, only about 47,000 retrofits were done with the SEAI last year. It went out to tender for contractors last year for the Warmer Homes scheme, with 36 companies signed up to deliver these services around the country.

Green Party TD Marc Ó Cathaisaigh asked if there was a conflict between contractors choosing to deliver services on this particular scheme compared to other schemes where homeowners pay upfront.

“The reality is contractors are choosing them all,” Dr Byrne said. “We’re putting them under pressure to deliver for us.”