Environmental NGO Friends of the Earth has called on the government to set a 2030 deadline to phase out oil and gas boilers from all Irish homes, reports RTE.
Fossil fuel boilers are no longer allowed in newly built homes, but older Irish homes can replace oil or gas boilers with new ones.
The group said the new boiler should be on sale this decade.
“We do need to look at an end date for oil and gas boilers that this side of 2030. We have a renewable energy rate of just 6% so we are the very last,” she said. “We are really laggards at the moment,” Friends of the Earth’s energy policy officer Clare O’Connor said, reports RTE.
Ireland has committed to 70% renewable energy by 2030 and net zero emissions by 2050.
It aims to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
Currently, 86% of new buildings are equipped with heat pumps. Thousands of homes are being upgraded as part of the Deep Refurbishment and Warmer Homes program.
However, independent Roscommon-Galway TD Michael Fitzmaurice said the old stone houses could not be restored to the standard required for oil boiler excavation.
“With the stone, the insulation isn’t suiting it,” he said. “It gets wet inside the stone. People are entitled to warmer homes but cannot do the work that it required,” reports RTE.
Friends of the Earth said the assessment for home retrofits should be free of charge.
“An assessment is money wasted if you are not heat-pump ready,” Clare O’Connor said, reports RTE.
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