Cork council chief admits retrofitting schemes are 'bamboozling'
Irish Examiner Munster Business Hub Editor Alan Healy with speakers: Karen O'Regan, Accenture Ireland managing director; Paddy Hayes, chief executive, ESB; Dr Marguerite Nyhan, associate professor in environmental engineering and future sustainability, UCC; and Ann Doherty, chief executive, Cork City Council, at the Irish Examiner Net Zero Carbon Cities Cork business breakfast in association with Accenture at the River Lee Hotel, Cork. Picture: Dan Linehan
The chief executive of one of the country's biggest local authorities has admitted even she finds the complexities of retrofitting "bamboozling", as she called for a simplification for homeowners.
Ann Doherty, who heads Cork City Council, told an and Accenture event on decarbonising cities that the various schemes on offer when it comes to retrofitting could do with being simplified for homeowners who wish to do their part for the emissions reduction needed under climate targets.
The Government announced its €8bn National Retrofitting Scheme a year ago, aiming to upgrade 75,000 homes every year from 2026 to 2030, with an overall target of 500,000. It also targets the installation of 400,000 heat pumps in existing homes by 2030.
According to Environment Minister Eamon Ryan's figures last month, almost 49,700 applications for heating upgrade support were submitted to the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) in 2022, a 150% increase on 2021 figures.
"Around 27,700 home energy upgrades were supported in 2022, exceeding the target of 26,940. This represents a 79% increase in outputs year on year," he said.
A target of 37,000 retrofits has been set for 2023, he added.
The nature of various schemes has been criticised anecdotally by would-be consumers as unwieldy and head-scratching at times, while TDs and senators have told Mr Ryan and SEAI officials at various Oireachtas hearings that there are not enough firms under the SEAI's "one-stop shop" model to cope with the demand.
Mr Ryan told the last month that the current low number of one-stop shops assigned by the SEAI to carry out the retrofitting programme would improve as the national programme gains momentum.
He said: “They are ramping up, and they’re not small firms — this is the likes of ESB and Scottish and Southern [SSE] — they’re not companies without scaling-up capabilities. It does take time.
“Last year was only the start, it was always a warming-up. We have delivered roughly the scale and speed that we expected. We will go this year to 37,000 houses being upgraded, and up again the year after that. It’s delivering, the way I see it."
Cork City Council's chief executive said the retrofitting process could be made easier.
"There are a lot of schemes where we all get a bit bamboozled — if we could streamline it a bit," Ms Doherty told an audience of business and academic figures in Cork.
Renovations and urgent phase-out of fossil fuels are needed to decarbonise heating in Europe, a new report from the European Environment Agency (EEA) said.
The need for retrofitting is now "urgent", the EEA said, with about half of the EU’s final energy consumption going on heating.
Almost 80% of all household energy use relates to space and water heating, with over half of this energy being supplied by mostly gas, it added.
"In 2020, residential and industrial heating and cooling demand was only 10% below the average annual level seen from 2005 to 2009, despite the covid-19 pandemic having suppressed industrial activity and an exceptionally mild winter having lowered the heating needs in most of Europe’s buildings.
"This indicates sluggish progress in achieving a permanent reduction in heating and cooling needs," the report said.
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