Government's 'unrealistic' approach to Offaly's home heating problem criticised

Councillors on Offaly County Council criticised the government's “unrealistic” approach to the problem of home heating in Offaly, during their February monthly meeting.

Several of the Councillors strongly agreed with a motion submitted by Clare County Council which called on the government to create a grant scheme for fossil fuel boilers (whether gas or oil) in homes.

Cllr John Leahy said Offaly is very dependent on fossil fuels but the government doesn't seem to be factoring this into the equation.

“The government is not giving grants for solid fuel boilers but is giving grants up to €44,000 for retrofitting houses and installing heat pumps. Many homes in Offaly are very old and it would be very expensive to retrofit them to properly insulate them for the efficient running of heat pumps. There are a lot of elderly people in Offaly who couldn't afford the match funding for a grant for retrofitting and the installation of heat pumps.”

Cllr Seán O'Brien agreed, adding they should write to the governmental department outlining their concerns.

“The Department refuses to give any grant money towards oil or gas boilers; instead they are offering homes €44,000 if they do a retrofit of their homes, but many people don't have the match funding for this. It is simply unrealistic.”

“It costs a lot of money to retrofit an old house and install a heat pump,” commented Cllr Declan Harvey. “To get the right BER rating for the efficient running of a heat pump you have to practically rip apart an old house. It's a massive job, it's very expensive and most people can't afford it. I have a bungalow and use solid fuel in it. I burn turf. There is smokeless coal. A lot of people are burning timber. The elderly can't afford retrofitting, even with the grant.”

Cllr Fergus McDonnell agreed. “It is baffling that the government Department is being so blinkered and unsympathetic regarding this. Besides, many of us prefer homes with fires rather than with no chimneys, no fires, only heat pumps. Fires create a sense of homeliness, which you don't get in a heat pump home. In Offaly we have a high dependency on solid fuel and the government doesn't want to recognise that reality.”

Cllr Noel Cribben said there are 1,400 houses in Edenderry and 700 of them burn turf.

“That's exactly 50% and there's no way they are all going to retrofit their houses. It's too expensive. It's not realistic.”

Cllr Seán Maher told the meeting that Grant Engineering in Birr is currently working on new boilers, which will take Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO), but the government's tax on these boilers is too high.