Engineers Ireland report shows retrofitting of homes can’t be delayed

Commenting on the Engineers Ireland ‘State of Ireland 2019’ report, Labour Housing spokesperson, Jan O’Sullivan TD, has called for a cross-departmental plan to urgently respond to the concerns raised in the report.

Deputy O’Sullivan said:

“The report published today from Engineers Ireland says that 600,000 people in this country are living in poor housing conditions with leaks, damp or rot.

“This report is a call to action, not just to build more high-quality homes but to bring existing homes up to an acceptable standard of living and a good BER rating.

“This report should be a wake up call to Minister Murphy. It is beyond time that the  Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government immediately ramps up the limited support that is available to Local Authorities to bring their homes up to the required standard.

“The responsibility for retrofitting of course doesn’t just stand with Minister Murphy, there is a real opportunity for Minister Bruton to work with the SEAI to revise their schemes for privately-owned homes so that poorer households are not excluded because they can’t afford the up-front matching costs.

“The Engineers Ireland report shows just how bad Irish housing stock is.  It comes at a time when we have, as a nation, committed to playing our part in addressing the threat posed by the climate crisis and global warming.

“It is essential that poorer households are not excluded and are able to heat and maintain their homes without facing fuel poverty as increasing carbon taxes are applied.

“While Engineers Ireland estimates that almost 2 million homes will have to be retrofitted in the long term, the most urgent action needed is to bring older, poor quality homes up to standard and living in a local authority house or on a low income should not leave you out in the cold.”