Éamon Ó Cuív backs retrofit scheme, urges island and SME fixes
Éamon Ó Cuív spoke about a new retrofit scheme, welcoming it as a huge step forward and calling it a "no-brainer" while urging prompt action to avoid rising costs. He endorsed the targets and the one-stop-shop but warned that rules on grants and company turnover could disadvantage island communities and small builders.
Scheme endorsement and cost warning
Éamon Ó Cuív welcomed the retrofit scheme and its targets, agreeing with a previous Deputy that it is a no-brainer. He warned that past capped expenditure looks cheap while future and present costs look dear - and argued delaying the scheme will only make it more expensive, citing a project whose cost rose from £7 million to £20 million over 14 years.
Island grants and higher costs
He asked the minister to remind a senior colleague of previous island energy schemes where islands received higher ratio grants and higher ceilings. He emphasised that building work on islands is more costly and urged the same process be considered to replicate the islands' past success.
SME concerns and accreditation
He raised concern that a company turnover threshold of around one million would be unattainable for many island firms. He said companies should be solvent and capable, not judged solely on turnover, and noted that small builders often deliver high-quality one-off houses; he called for SEAI to keep rigorous accreditation standards.
Need for ongoing monitoring and quick fixes
Drawing on experience of schemes stalled by small rules, he urged constant monitoring and rapid, targeted fixes rather than lengthy reviews. He warned that minor quibble clauses could make the scheme unattractive and insisted problems must be examined and fixed quickly to meet targets.
One-stop shop and delivery focus
He welcomed the one-stop-shop as a potential help but warned it must deliver in practice. If it fails to deliver, he said, it should be changed promptly to ensure the scheme achieves its objectives.
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The first thing I want to do is deeply welcome the scheme. I think it is a huge step forward and as the previous Deputy has said, it is a no-brainer. Now there is certainly one thing about it that I think we all recognise, that capped expenditure of the past looks very, very cheap, of the future looks dear and of the present look dear. But if we delay this, it only gets dearer and I hope we have learnt our lesson. I was talking last night about a peer that had planning permission in 2008 and was costing £7 million. The budget estimate for it now is £20 million for the exact same peer with the exact same planning. So I think that is for 14 years and it has doubled. So let's get on with the job. Now I welcome the scheme and I think the targets are laudable. I also particularly welcome the enhanced scheme for those who want to do a limited amount of work. I think it has to be looked at, do these need to be extended? Now there is a particular issue, Minister, that I want to raise with you and you might raise with your senior colleague. And I think you will understand why I specifically reference him. Previously, when he was Minister, when there were schemes in relation to energy etc. The islands got a higher ratio grant and had higher ceilings but the cost of doing building work on an island is higher. So I would ask you to remind him, and I will remind him as well, of what he did before. How well it worked on the islands, the huge success of energy schemes on the islands. And ask him would he put the same process in place for this scheme. And I think that that would be very important. Now the second thing is this, that the turnover of the company doing it has to be one million or so I understand. Now again for island companies doing it on an island, that is totally, utterly unachievable. Now my view is, the companies need to be solvent and the companies need to be capable of doing the job. And we do not want the kind of situation that Deputy Tobin is talking about. But small builders often deliver better, and we know that all the one-off houses that were built around the country, or all the single houses that were built to a very, very high standard by small builders, contracted privately. So I think it is important that SEAI have high standards in terms of accreditation. But I do not think, particularly in more dispersed rural areas, and particularly on islands, I do not think turnover is the only measure of that. Because sometimes small is beautiful, and I think it was the Green Party that used to be always preaching that particular gospel. The second thing I would say, and my last point here, is, I have seen, in the last 14 years, scheme after scheme announced with great fanfares, huge targets, money put aside the whole thing, and because of small rules that did not get tweaked when the scheme was not working, we did not get delivery. And if there was a problem, instead of tweaking it, and just looking at, you know, doing keyhole surgery on it, they had a big huge review that took a year or two, and a few hundred recommendations, and by the time they got round to changing it, there were a lot more opportunities lost. Now my view is this, that this has to be kept under constant monitoring, and whatever is holding it up has to be examined, and quickly fixed, quickly fixed, quickly changed. And if you do that, you will achieve your targets. I have no doubt that there will be problems that will arise. I have no doubt that it will be found that there are small quibble clauses that are making the scheme not attractive. And finally, I do welcome the one-stop-shop. I think that will be a big help. But if it is not delivering, change it. Make sure we deliver. It can be done. Goedemangat.
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