Sir, – John McManus’s article is particularly untimely with the Iran war increasing our vulnerability to rapidly rising gas and oil prices (“‘You don’t get your money back for 64 years’: Why retrofitting doesn’t make sense”, Opinion, March 11th).
It is not possible to compare average overall energy consumption between A and G-rated homes. The average A-rated home built in recent years is generally 40-50 per cent larger than an older, compact G-rated home, thus skewing the results. It would be pointless to try to heat F or G-rated homes to a comfortable temperature, so instead families retreat to one or two rooms, impacting health and education outcomes. If families have a chance to move to a retrofitted house, it results in a better, healthier environment and energy savings too.
Our retrofit strategy is not just about carbon. As a modern, rich economy we can’t abandon a significant proportion of our population to Victorian living conditions of cold, damp homes. It’s not a case of funding renewables or new builds over retrofits.
Bringing our older homes up to standard is vital, and does not compete for construction labour with new homes. The retrofit industry is growing, apprentices are being trained, we are building momentum. Yes, Government should focus retrofit grants on the vulnerable and on those who can’t pay, but maintain strong retrofit targets. And, above all, ensure that messaging is clear.
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We must not let the misreading of a report and some questionable conclusions derail this essential national infrastructure project of ensuring a decent home for every citizen. – Yours, etc,
PAT BARRY,
Chief executive,
Irish Green Building Council,
Dublin.
Sir, – I would like to commend John McManus on his article regarding our fundamentally flawed approach to climate action. It was refreshing to read an objective breakdown of why the current approach is, and always was, doomed to failure. I would love to see more of this common sense analysis of Government policy.
Sadly, we have an administration committed to growing the population, building data centres, increasing air travel and constructing hundreds of thousands of homes, yet they expect carbon emissions to fall. These often ludicrous contradictions and unworkable policies need to be called out, examined and debated more often. – Yours, etc,
SEAN MOONEY,
Raheny,
Dublin 5.
