Retrofit of Cork council houses will see tenants save thousands on heating

All the council houses that will get new doors, windows, insulation and new heating systems which will drastically cut down on the fuel bills its tenants will pay. File picture: iStock

Cork County Council is planning to undergo energy efficiency retrofits on its housing stock in 2026 and 2027, which may see massive savings for council tenants on their heating bills. 

Figures provided by the council show that two previously retrofitted properties recorded an annual drop in fuel consumption from €3,440 to €771.60 and €3,740 to €1,311.60.

Council director of housing Keith Jones said the local authority plans to retrofit 175 properties in 2026 and to complete work on a further 169 in 2027. In a report, he listed all the council houses that will get new doors, windows, insulation and new heating systems which will drastically cut down on the fuel bills its tenants will pay.

For 2026, 12 houses in Moylan Park, Kiskeam will be retrofitted along with nine at O’Neill-Crowley Place in Mitchelstown, 17 at Dr Patrick O’Sullivan Place, Aghada and 23 at Castledon, Bandon.

There will be a total of 35 houses each upgraded at Dermot Hurley Estate in Youghal and Ard Aoibhinn, Cobh. In addition, there will be 25 retrofits at the council estate in Waterpark, Carrigaline and 17 at Cluain Ard, Fermoy.

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The council is planning to tackle a number of houses on the list for 2026 and 2027, which they know will become vacant and do the work before new tenants are appointed. The 2027 plan is to tackle 11 homes at Captain Kean’s Grove, Mitchelstown with 26 at Woodview Drive, Mallow and 34 at Chestnut Drive, Youghal.

The largest number for that year will be at Deerpark, Bandon, where there will be 65 houses tackled. A further 14 are earmarked for work at Edmund Rice Close and Crescent in Cobh and 19 at the Mount Rivers Estate in Carrigaline.

The local authority completed retrofitting energy upgrades on 135 houses in 2025 in council estates in Macroom, Passage West, Coachford, Bandon, Bantry and Mallow.

Mr Jones’ report detailed some very significant fuel savings on a number of the properties as council staff recorded the tenants’ fuel bills before and after the work had been done.

At Moher Crescent in Mitchelstown, there was a decrease in fuel bills for a tenant from €3,440 to €771.60. One council tenant at Woodview Estate in Carrigaline recorded another significant fuel drop from €1,575 per annum before the work was done to €491.78 after it was completed.

A tenant at Ard na Greine in Courtmacsherry saw their bill fall from €2,535 to €1,022 while another living in the council’s Corrin View Estate in Ballyhea witnessed a drop from €2,080 to €699.60.

'Spanners in the works'

However, there are some "spanners in the works",, according to some county councillors, which are prompting some council tenants to opt out of the retrofitting scheme, which is optional rather than compulsory.

New air to heat pumps being installed in the houses do not work if the electricity is cut off.

During last winter, a number of power cuts took out several areas in north- and mid-Cork in particular. The resultant blackouts stopped the new heating systems working.

The council has admitted elderly people in particular decided as a result of this that they won't sign up to retrofits and want to keep coal fires.