Fianna Fáil Spokesperson on Communications, Jack Chambers has said that reforms are required to address deficiencies found in the scheme by the European Court of Auditors.
A recent report found that energy ratings did not improve for 52 % of households renovated by the Better Energy Warmer Home Schemes in 2017.
Deputy Chambers said: “It is simply not acceptable that we are running a scheme which appears to be only achieving its objectives in less than half the time. What is worse is that there appears to be no built-in energy efficiency goal for these projects either.
“Ireland has a massive challenge ahead of us. In order to achieve our climate change goals in the coming years, 1.5 million homes will require upgrades. If only half of these achieve energy rating, we will risk moving even further away from meeting our commitments.
“The households covered by the scheme tend to be less well off or elderly. These homes are exactly the ones which will required targeted, quality supports. The Minister for Communications should review the scheme with a view to delivering real energy efficiency savings for these homes,” concluded Deputy Chambers.
