Carol Nolan: Urgent action demanded on retrofits and heat pumps
Carol Nolan criticised delays in the SEAI retrofit programme and opposed a proposed ban on oil and gas heaters, urging immediate action to protect pensioners and households. She warned that delivery slowdowns and a large cost-grant gap for heat-pump readiness would impose heavy financial burdens on families.
SEAI funding and delivery
The speaker noted that the SEAI is the designated National Retrofit Delivery Body and has received well in excess of £1 billion over the past decade, with around £8 billion earmarked to 2030. She argued that despite the funding, the system remains characterised by significant delays between application, approval and works being carried out.
Pensioners waiting for essential works
Carol Nolan said pensioners in her constituency are waiting very long periods for essential retrofitting works and called for more urgency. She urged the minister to take immediate action, stressing that talking about retrofitting is insufficient without timely delivery of works.
Heat-pump costs and grant shortfalls
The deputy raised concerns about a recently flagged ban on oil and gas heaters, saying it would place a massive financial burden on families forced to switch to heat pumps. She cited briefings with the Alliance for Zero Carbon Heating and said the minister has informed the Oireachtas the average deep retrofit cost to make a home heat-pump ready is €56,000 while the average grant is less than €20,000.
Political critique of policy direction
Carol Nolan accused the Green Party of being out of touch and said the message from Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, who she said have endorsed these policies, is that "the green medicine will be forced down their necks". She called for more input from government to avoid imposing unaffordable changes on households, particularly vulnerable pensioners.
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As we know, SEAI is the state agency that has been designated as the National Retrofit Delivery Body. It has received well in excess of £1 billion in funding over the course of the last decade, yet it continues to operate a system characterised by significant delays between application, approval and the works being carried out. The funding it has between now and 2030 will be in the region of £8 billion. Half of this money is to be used for the energy-poor sector. But what I fear is that the scale of ambition and the work being placed on SEAI will not be reached in any meaningful way. I have pensioners in my constituency who are waiting long periods of time for essential works to be carried out. I am calling for more urgency to be given to this whole issue. It is one thing talking about retrofitting, but if the action is not there, Minister, it is not good enough. I would ask you to take immediate action on that because I see pensioners waiting, as I said, very long periods of time. Also, I want to raise the issue of the proposed ban on oil and gas heaters in homes. This was flagged recently and it struck me as the final nail in the coffin in terms of the Green Party's relationship with reality. Indeed, the Rural Independent Group here know from our briefings with the Alliance for Zero Carbon Heating that such a policy would place a massive financial burden on families across Ireland if their existing boiler were to fail unexpectedly and these families were forced to switch to heat pump. Minister Ryan has informed the Oireachtas that the average cost of the deep retrofit that is necessary to make a home heat pump ready is €56,000, while the average grant for these projects is less than €20,000. It is just not going to work, Minister. We need to see more input from yourselves. It is as if government is making life very, very difficult for people. The key message that people are receiving from the Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael parties, who are very cosy with yourselves and who have endorsed your policies, is that the green medicine will be forced down their necks, whether they like it or not.
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