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Let's end energy poverty and energy pollution!
Ireland’s current energy system isn’t working. Our energy supply is still dominated by fossil fuels and our buildings are inefficient.
Cold, mould-ridden, poorly insulated homes are pervasive across Ireland.
In fact, the majority of our housing stock is energy inefficient – Irish homes use 7% more energy than the EU average and emit almost 60% more CO2. In general, those in lower quality housing with lower energy efficiency standards rely more on fossil fuels resulting in higher carbon emissions and higher expenditure on energy.
With our Warm Homes for All campaign, we’re working to ensure no one lives in cold, unhealthy, fossil fuel-dependent homes, which are too expensive to heat and fix up.
The housing crisis in Ireland is a crisis of quality of homes and affordability as well, in addition to shortage. Energy inefficient or poorly insulated homes are more likely to be cold, mould-ridden, heat-leaking and energy guzzling. Ireland has one of the highest rates of excess winter deaths in the EU at over 2,800 deaths annually, many of which can be attributed to energy poverty and cold housing. Children living in cold homes are more than twice as likely to suffer from respiratory conditions.
Energy inefficient homes also mean extortionate energy bills. For example, compared to a mid-range energy rating (C2), the cost of meeting your minimum energy needs can be up to 55% higher in a low efficiency dwelling (E1-E2) or 30% lower in a high efficiency dwelling (A1-B2). The high energy bills associated with energy inefficient homes serve to further aggravate the (already high) costs associated with renting or owning a home.
In a nutshell, energy inefficient homes are low quality and detrimental to health, as well as too expensive to heat and fix up. It only follows that energy inefficient homes are a contributor to the housing crisis, in terms of impacting the quality and affordability of homes.
Furthermore, better insulated homes also reduce fossil fuel usage– the primary driver of the climate crisis–and emissions.
Energy efficiency of homes is not just a technical endeavour—they’re a linked environmental, social and economic necessity.
In 2022, one in three Irish households were living in energy poverty. Since 2021, the amount of households in Ireland that were unable to keep their homes warm has more than doubled, increasing from 3.4% in 2021 to 7.2% in 2023, which roughly means over 180,000 more people in Ireland fell into energy poverty over the last three years.
Recent statistics from the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) paint a stark picture. One in four domestic gas customers are now in arrears, and one in eight households are behind on their electricity bills. These figures underscore the urgent need for inclusive policies that address the root causes of energy poverty — inadequate income, high energy costs, and inefficient housing.
Energy poverty means the inability to access and afford essential energy services and products—which constitute a basic human need. This could look like being forced to turn off heating to save money—or choose between heating and eating. Energy poverty harms the most vulnerable: low-income families, single-parent homes (which are 86% women-led), the elderly and people of colour.
Over half a million people went without heating in Ireland due to cost in 2023.
Design by: Iris Aghedo
The energy poverty and energy pollution crises share the same root causes—and can be solved with the same shared solutions. Working on energy poverty is providing us with new opportunities to collaborate with a diverse range of groups and organisations - and to stand in solidarity with those who are most impacted by some of the issues we work on. We’ve been working with NGOs from the environmental and anti-poverty sectors to develop shared demands that we can put to the Government to tackle both energy poverty and climate pollution.
Energy-efficient renovations are a fast and easy way to slash emissions, reduce fossil fuel use, slash energy bills and improve people’s homes! They also create lots of green local jobs. Renovations like this are often referred to as “retrofitting”.
At the moment, there are several barriers to retrofitting in Ireland which need to be identified and addressed so that we can dramatically scale up the number of energy efficient homes in Ireland, starting with those in energy poverty.
An equitable and just transition for our homes and buildings can unleash multiple benefits for Ireland’s energy system, its environment and people, especially the most vulnerable. Renovating our buildings is a critical step toward achieving climate obligations, tackling energy poverty, creating green jobs, and fostering healthier and more resilient communities.
Graphic harvesting by Hazel Hurley