Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 5 April 2022
967. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the engagement her Department has had with other Departments regarding the retrofitting of older homes and buildings in line with the goal of compact development; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18082/22]
View answerRetrofitting homes is a highly labour-intensive sector and can create high-quality, sustainable jobs in local communities throughout the country. It therefore has the capacity to play an important role in the economic growth and development of rural communities.
Retrofitting, particularly of older housing stock commonly found in rural areas, will be a particularly effective way to help reach our ambitious climate targets while also improving wellbeing for those living in retrofitted homes.
The National Rural Development Policy, Our Rural Future, published in March 2021, supports a Just Transition to a climate neutral economy. The policy will maximise our resources and strengths in the Green Economy to support employment opportunities for communities in other areas such as renewable energy, sustainable tourism, the bioeconomy and the circular economy.
It contains over 150 policy measures for delivery, including a specific measure to retrofit 500,000 homes and install 400,000 heat pumps across the country up to 2030. Delivery of this measure is being led by the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications and SEAI.
As part of the implementation monitoring process for Our Rural Future my Department produces progress reports on measures contained in the policy, with the first of these published in February. This process has entailed my officials directly engaging with Government Departments in relation to the range of measures contained in the policy. Further reports will be provided on a six-monthly basis.
Our annual work programmes enable new actions to be added over the lifetime of the policy, and my Department is currently liaising with colleagues across Government to finalise the 2022 Work Programme.
