Cllrs discuss this and VAT
A county councillor has called on the Government to remove all VAT from the cost of buying and installing home insulation.
Independent Cllr Ben Dalton O’Sullivan requested that Cork County Council write to the Minister for Older People Mary Butler and Minister for the Environment Eamon Ryan asking for zero per cent VAT for all those looking to insulate their home but who don’t qualify for the Government’s Warmer Homes Scheme.
The councillor said insulation can cost anywhere between €6,000 and €24,000 these days and is simply unaffordable for many people.
He said that, with the current climate crises faced by Ireland and the rest of the world, simple measures like insulating homes can be taken to reduce emissions in Ireland.
The Carrigaline councillor said: “The experts are telling us that we are at a crucial point in terms of climate change. There are simple solutions we could introduce at minimum cost to the exchequer.”
He also pointed out that the current VAT on insulation is 13.5 per cent meaning that for every €1,000 spent on insulation in Ireland, €135 is VAT.
His motion comes as pressure continues to grow on the Government to address the backlog of people currently on the waiting list for the Warmer Homes Scheme.
Cllr Dalton O’Sullivan said: “For many elderly people, there's a 24 month waiting list for the Warmer Homes Scheme with more than 800 people now on the list to get their attics done or their dry lining done and that's simply not good enough, especially when we have a climate crisis.” He added: “If the country is serious about addressing climate crisis, I think insulation is absolutely key and this is just one small thing we can do to make insulation more accessible to the ordinary home owner.”
Former county mayor Cllr Mary Linehan Foley agreed with Cllr Dalton O’Sullivan and said Government should make it as easy as possible for people who are trying to do the right thing by insulating their home.
She said: “If we are expecting elderly people and older couples that aren't financially stable enough to make these changes for our climate, I think we should be giving them any help we can.”
Meanwhile, the Climate Action Plan unveiled by the Government last week includes a national retrofitting programme which plans to bring half a million homes up to high energy efficiency standards within ten years. The plan states: “This National Residential Retrofit Plan aims to achieve the equivalent of 500,000 homes retrofitted to a Building Energy Rating of B2/ cost optimal or carbon equivalent and the installation of 400,000 heat pumps in existing premises to replace older, less efficient heating systems by end-2030.
“This will require hundreds of thousands of homeowners to make the decision to invest in decarbonising and making their properties more efficient as well as the State playing a central role through the retrofitting of social homes.”