South Dublin homeowner no longer facing prison for retrofitting his home

Last month Clive Ryan made headlines for facing imprisonment and a large fine after retrofitting his home under a Government grant. 

Following that news story, local Green Party rep Mark Lynch contacted Clive to understand his situation and help him with his planning permission application. 

Clive Ryan’s planning permission has now been granted, bringing months of worry to an end for the Ryan family. 

While this decision is welcome, it’s deeply unfortunate that anyone looking to improve the heating efficiency of their home had to apply for planning permission in the first place. Retrofitting saves homeowners significantly on the cost of heating. 

That’s why the Green Party is calling for: 

1. an exemption on planning permission to retrofit homes 

2. specific grants to encourage neighbours to retrofit together 

“We need to make it as easy as possible for people to retrofit their homes” said Mark Lynch, Green Party local representative for the Rathfarnham - Templeogue area.

In 2022, the Green Party in government introduced planning exemptions for solar panels. Now we’re calling on Government to introduce a similar exemption to retrofit your home. 

"It’s hard enough for people to take time out of their busy lives to begin the process of a home retrofit. Government, including local councils, should be making it as easy as possible."

As well as the planning exemption, the Green Party are advocating for specific grants tailored for neighbours to retrofit together. This, coupled with better grant funding, will speed up retrofitting right across the country, especially for people most affected by fluctuating fossil fuel prices.

This will help us to: 

- accomplish the elimination of fuel poverty 

- create more comfortable and cheaper-to-run homes 

- achieve a reduction of harmful climate related emissions.