The recent Economic & Social Research Institute (ESRI) review of residential heat decarbonisation in Ireland painted such a negative picture of retrofitting your home that I fear it will kill public confidence.

Just when we most need to shift away from imported fossil fuels, it seems to be undermining the case for greater energy efficiency, which has to be the first response.

The report found that Ireland’s progress towards decarbonising residential heating was “significantly behind target”, with deep retrofits and heat pump installations reaching just 11.5 per cent and 3.5 per cent of 2030 goals by the end of 2024.

It is good that public policies are held to account by critical economic analysis, but reading the review you would think there has been no progress at all, which is simply not the case. Such a negative perspective can create the belief that change is beyond us, which only serves those who benefit from the status quo.

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