Mayo TD claims rural homes excluded by 'flawed' retrofitting programme

A MAYO TD has claimed that rural households are disadvantaged when it comes to retrofitting schemes for homes as the majority rely on solid fuel for heat.

Sinn Féin TD Rose Conway-Walsh has claimed that the retrofitting programme for homes is 'not fit for purpose' and that rural homes in Mayo are 'essentially excluded from the retrofit scheme'.

The Erris-based TD made her claims following a hearing on energy poverty at Joint Oireachtas Committee Social Protection, Community and Rural Development and the Islands debate, which heard criticism of the government's retrofit programme.

Deputy Conway-Walsh described the programme as flawed as one of the the key drivers of this is the high efficiency target that has to be met. She said for many homes reaching a B2 rating is either impossible or far too expensive.

“Another key shortcoming is the lack of a specific approach to homes that rely on solid fuel for heating – the vast majority of homes in Mayo.

“Only 2.1 percent of homes in Mayo are heated with natural gas and 5.4 percent with electricity – that means that more than four out of five homes in Mayo rely on solid fuels for heating. If we compare that to Eamon Ryan’s constituency in Dublin only about 6 percent rely on solid fuels.

“To access the retrofit scheme you have to be able to afford 50 percent of the cost of getting to a B2 rating. This is far out of the reach of most people everywhere in the state. But if you rely on solid fuel for heating the costs are even higher,” she said.

The Sinn Féin spokesperson on Public Expenditure, National Development Plan, and Reform said the meeting confirmed what Sinn Féin has been saying about rural communities feeling 'badly let down by the Government'.

“Rural homes are being left behind. The retrofits scheme as it is currently designed is a massive wealth transfer between to wealthier households. Many households in Mayo have no hope of accessing the scheme.

“In a period when the cost of living is sky-high and levels of energy poverty are at some of their highest rates - that is totally unacceptable.

“It is clear that the Government's deeply inequitable and regressive scheme has resulted in a situation in which the very people who need it most simply cannot afford to retrofit their homes.

“Séamus Boland of Irish Rural Link comments to the Committee echoed those by Sinn Féin over many years. That message must now finally be listened to by the Government,” she said.

Sinn Féin local candidate for Ballina, Una Morris added that: “The programme fails to address the significant challenges faced by rural households in Mayo, many of whom are elderly and on middle and low incomes, when attempting to improve their home’s heating and energy efficiency rating.

“Sinn Féin are clear that the number of fully funded retrofits is far too low; that there needs to be targeted measures to ensure that delivery is based on needs rather than means and that those in solid fuel homes have been left out in the cold.

“Significantly, our solutions include specific measures for people on middle and low incomes, those living rurally and those living in older homes. This would make a real difference for people in Mayo struggling to heat their homes.

“Our plan is to spend more where it matters in order to deliver a tiered, area-targeted-based scheme aimed at low and middle income households.

“Significantly, we would establish a dedicated scheme for solid fuel homes. Rather than targeting solid fuel homes with punitive action like carbon tax hikes and turf bans, we propose to support them as part of a just transition,” she said.