People Before Profit councillor Darragh Adelaide condemns the government’s cuts to the Retrofitting funds. It was revealed in September’s Council meeting that funding for South Dublin County Council’s retrofitting scheme has been reduced by about 45% since 2022.
Cllr Adelaide said: The cuts to the Retrofitting Programme for Social Housing is disgraceful, especially under the watch of the Green Party, who championed the Retrofitting programme as a way to “reduce carbon emissions by half”.
In 2022 the council was allocated €5.1 million with a target of retrofitting 146 homes. In 2024 this was cut to €2.8 million with a target of only 83 homes. 61% of a household’s carbon emissions come from heating. Adelaide added that “Retrofitting homes is both a means to reach our climate targets and cut down on energy costs during the cost-of-living crisis.”
Gino Kenny, local TD for people before profit added “Allowing cuts to the retrofitting programme shows that rather than looking out for our environment, the Green Party serves to greenwash government environmental failures”