Laois Offaly homes will be insulated from cold and rising fuel prices claims Green Minister

Social homes in the Midlands be insulated from the cold and rising fuel prices because of the priority status of the region for retrofitting, a Laois Offaly Government Minister has claimed.

Minister of State Pippa Hackett said 345 houses are being retrofitted across Laois and Offaly. She said the first of these home retrofits have been completed, and work is progressing well on the remainder.

The Green Party senator claimed it will have a benefit

“Getting that priority status for the Midlands has really made a difference, and we’re well ahead of other counties because of it.

"It also means people are becoming more skilled at retrofitting, and over recent weeks there’s been a huge increase in the number of people registering for the Retrofit Skills Programme at the Mount Lucas training centre run by Laois and Offaly Education Training Board. It’s expected that between 800 and 1,000 people will be trained there this year," she said.

A statement added that Minister Hackett "dismissed recent suggestions" that jobs on Offaly projects should be ring-fenced for Offaly people.

“It simply wouldn’t be possible to discriminate against job applicants for retrofitting work on the basis that they are not from Offaly,” she said.

“However, the training offered at Mount Lucas is giving the people of Offaly, and across the Midlands, a wonderful opportunity train locally for emerging employment opportunities. I would encourage anyone interested in this career to avail of it. 

Minister Hackett also pointed in her statement that the Midlands is prioritised for funding from the EU to ease this region’s transition to a Green economy. The fund is open to East Galway, North Tipperary, Longford, Laois, Offaly, Westmeath, West Kildare and Roscommon

“It is fair to say that Offaly County Council, Offaly Local Development Committee and Community Groups within Offaly have demonstrated a strong showing in relation to previous Just Transition Funds, and this bodes well for equally strong applications to the EU JT Fund,” she said.

“I will continue to advocate that Offaly is the most impacted county, and as such deserves the largest share of the fund. This is not conjecture, but a fact that has been widely and well documented, for example, most recently in the EnvEcon Report 2021. 

“This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to re-orientate the Midlands to a sustainable track and I believe that Offaly partners are the best placed to take advantage of this and pass this advantage along. I will continue to support them in this,” she said.

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