A local councillor has raised concerns about the slow progress of retrofitting of council homes in South Dublin. People Before Profit Councillor Madeleine Johansson made the comments following a reply received to a question at the December County Council meeting. The reply reveals that only 64 council owned homes have been retrofitted so far, with another 68 scheduled to be completed in January. The councillor had also asked for a breakdown of BER ratings prior to and after the retrofitting scheme, but the details were left out of the reply.
Cllr Johansson commented: “I’m very concerned about the lack of progress of the retrofitting programme. Council tenants are generally on low incomes and will be struggling to heat their homes this winter. This current cold snap is already causing difficulties for many who are being forced to choose between heating and eating.
“We need to be more ambitious with the retrofitting programme as well as speed up the process. It’s not acceptable that council tenants are still living in poor quality housing that are expensive to heat and can cause health issues from mould and damp.
“The retrofitting of council homes is also a very easy measure to take to reach our carbon emissions targets. Retrofitted homes reduce carbon emissions and help the country as a whole to reach our targets.
“I’m also concerned about the lack of information on the BER ratings of the homes after the completion of retrofitting works. We need to ensure that homes are retrofitted properly and to a high standard so that a minimum BER of B2 is actually achieved. I will follow up this question again so that there is full transparency on the outcomes of the programme.”
