Dublin South West Sinn Féin TD, Seán Crowe, has welcomed the government’s U-turn on the retrofit scheme and said the wheels are slowly coming off the government’s climate action plan, with the retrofit fiasco just one more example of the incompetence of the present administration on this issue.

Over 300 homeowners had been waiting months for approval for a retrofit grants scheme under the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) when the government announced it was suspending funding for the scheme.

Deputy Seán Crowe said:

“I want to welcome the government’s U-turn on its shock decision to stop its retrofit scheme.

“More than 300 homeowners had been waiting months for approval for the grant, only to be told now that they would not be receiving funding. That decision has now been reversed.

“The government’s decision to pull funding for the home retrofit scheme was a slap in the face of homeowners who wanted to do the responsible thing and to retrofit their homes to be more energy efficient.

“Stories had emerged in the media of some owners who were already mid-build, having sunk thousands into their projects, and this latest U-turn will no doubt be met with a sigh of relief.

“This retrofit fiasco is just one more example of the incompetence of the present administration on this issue.

“A couple of weeks ago we learned that the proposed scrappage scheme to boost the use of electric cars was a non-runner.

“Clearly this Government is only paying lip service to climate action and they are playing the Irish taxpayer for a fool in the process.

“We need urgent and sensible action in the face of our climate emergency, yet the government are playing games. Their climate action plan is being made up on the hoof and is more about optics than saving the planet.

“Climate action is an area where all countries need to show real leadership, but just like the ongoing housing and health crisis, this government’s policies are counterproductive and making it worse.

“What we now need to see from the government in this area is a programme to retrofit the public housing stock and the introduction of new building regulations to ensure that all new builds are energy efficient.”

ENDS