By Irishexaminer.com Joe Dermody
Current projections from the Environmental Protection Agency note that a 23% emissions reduction by 2030 will fall far short of Ireland’s legal target of 51%. In housing alone, the ESRI says between €7 to €8 billion will be needed to upgrade homes to a BER B2 or higher.
In this Q&A interview, John O’Leary explains how effective policy changes and funding incentives for homeowners could help Ireland get the domestic side of its climate action efforts back on track.
Would incentivising more people to avail of SEAI skills training supports and cert schemes help Ireland reach its target of 500,000 homes retrofitted by 2030?
Absolutely. The target of 500,000 homes by 2030 is ambitious and rightly so in our view, but as it currently stands, we don’t have the number of workers and skills required to meet our national targets.
It’s not a case that training and support schemes aren’t there; it’s the uptake of those that’s the problem. One thing we see is a lack of awareness of these programmes when we go on a recruitment drive. In our view, there was a lost generation of apprentices in the previous decade. It wasn’t made attractive, and that’s a legacy of the economic crash. Now we’re facing down the barrel of a shortage.
We would encourage the government to think outside the box, look at a communications strategy, especially for younger people or those transitioning careers, that positions green skills as a viable and rewarding career. We believe more needs to be done on that front. Jobs in this sector are financially rewarding, particularly for those retraining or switching careers — but that’s only part of the story. We need to inspire people to see the value of these roles. They’re secure, future-facing jobs that contribute directly to national climate goals and the positive future of our communities. That needs to be the narrative.
An avenue that should be looked at is returning to work schemes for those on some level of social welfare. We are close to full employment, but some people, for valid reasons, depend on some level of social welfare payment. Offering part-time work to address short-term skills gaps and upskill without financial penalties for those people would boost numbers in the sector.
Another issue we have is keeping skilled workers here. The energy sector is a competitive market, and countries across the world also have the same ambitions as Ireland. We have certainly seen in recent times highly skilled workers immigrate due to the cost of living, lack of accommodation and attractive incentives to move abroad. It’s a challenge every sector face, including our own.
What cost-focused measures would help achieve a greater uptake of available retrofit grants?
Without doubt, the biggest barrier we see on both residential and commercial retrofits is the cost of upgrading.
Almost every day, we see homeowners coming to us saying they don’t have enough financial support to carry out retrofits. As the standard of housing and our expectations of housing are getting higher, this not only puts pressure on the private housing market but also on local authorities and housing associations , The government must lead by example and provide adequate funding to upgrade its own housing stock On cost pressures for households, we need to work collectively and not in silos, which is currently happening.
Positive work has started through the offering of green mortgages, for example, but we need more of those incentives. Through the collaboration of private companies, government and financial institutions, we can release the burden on people to improve their energy ratings. Low-interest loans, better bundling of supports into a single, clearer packages for households so they see the full benefit upfront and reducing upfront costs through larger grant funding would help massively. More dialogue is also needed with utility companies. We would advocate for a lower rate per kWh for customers who remove fossil fuels from their homes or businesses. That would be an incentive to move to more sustainable practices.
The industry needs to do a better job of laying out the benefits of switching, particularly for households. We accept that the upfront cost is high, but the efficiency, cost savings, and reliability of renewable offerings are evident and will benefit in the long term. If we lay out the facts more effectively through information campaigns, homeowners will be more willing to invest.
Would community grants to fund projects for communities be an impactful model for the sector?
We can focus a lot on the negatives in the sector, but we see the industry’s approach towards community grants as a huge positive. The main aim of community grants is to take away the risk from the equation to kickstart a community’s sustainability journey, and grants are doing this effectively. We have seen this firsthand with our own Community Fund, which is in its third year and currently open for applications now. it has helped GAA clubs, charities and community halls benefit from projects that improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions, from solar panel systems and heat pump installation to insulation upgrades.
The SEAI have promoted in their guidelines for community energy grants where they ask for large-scale industries to allocate some of their funding to non for profits in the community, which is having a significant impact in helping communities retrofit buildings vital to the economic and social fabric of an area. This is an example of a collaborative approach working, where private sector investment into community-based energy projects is supporting grassroots organisations across Ireland in achieving their sustainable energy ambitions.
We believe very much in being a community-based organisation and giving back to communities that shape the lives of Irish people. Every business wants to be viable, but we need to help those who are vulnerable in our community, whether that’s through professional guidance or financial support. If we all took the approach of giving back, it would make the sustainability journey easier for an awful lot of people.