Debate contribution: Energy Market

Debate contribution by Ms Sinéad McLaughlin on 11 June 2024.

MLA

Ms Sinéad McLaughlin

Party at the time

Social Democratic and Labour Party

Date

11 June 2024

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Energy Market

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4496040

Read the official Assembly record

Text

Thank you, Madam Principal Deputy Speaker. I welcome the motion and thank those who tabled it. It provides an important opportunity in the Assembly to discuss one of the most pressing aspects of the Minister's economic strategy, namely our energy policy. There can be no doubt that we must take advantage of the huge opportunities in our energy market across this island. It is a crucial part of our economic potential and a vital piece of the jigsaw in combating the climate emergency. In particular, I welcome the motion's focus on the regulation of oil. The motion is right to call attention to the interdependent relationship of the cost-of-living crisis and the cost of energy. More than two thirds of people here use home heating oil. I wholeheartedly agree that the transition to net zero means that, in future, hopefully, oil will be phased out altogether. The reality, however, is that many thousands of people in Northern Ireland still use it, and it must be regulated. Regardless of the benefits of any fossil fuel regulation or, indeed, the transition to renewables, if homes are not made to be energy-efficient, we will never make the progress that we need to make in bringing down costs to consumers. As has been said many times, the cheapest form of energy is the one that you do not use at all. Simply put, if heat is leaving through the windows and doors of our houses because of energy inefficiency, we can never expect success from the energy strategy. I have visited constituents who are simply pumping money into an inefficient property through no fault of their own. Our amendment is therefore intended to place the retrofitting agenda at the front and centre of our discussions on the energy market, where it belongs. We have championed that cause repeatedly at councils, in the Assembly and at Westminster, where my colleague Claire Hanna MP has worked as part of the all-party group on the green new deal to bring forward proposals and support legislation to create a universal basic energy allowance and a retrofitting strategy. That cause, however, has been significantly undermined by the Conservative Government's actions at Westminster. The Tories cut energy efficiency programmes way back in 2013, and, 10 years later, those programmes stood at a figure that was 10 times lower than that of 2010. In its plans to form the Government, the British Labour Party stated that it would give devolved Governments and local authorities powers and resources to upgrade cold and draughty homes in their areas. In Westminster, the SDLP's MPs intend to hold the next Government to account on that pledge. In addition to the work at Westminster, we can take some crucial steps in the Assembly, which include the Minister for the Economy working with the Minister for Communities to agree a large-scale social housing retrofit programme in order to reduce domestic fossil fuel consumption and increase energy efficiency, starting with communities that are in the areas of highest disadvantage. We all know that retrofitting makes sense. It makes sense for the environment and for reaching our net zero targets, especially given that we need to deliver energy savings of 25% from buildings and industry and that 27% of our emissions come from domestic sources. SSE called for a framework to be put in place to foster the development of a deep retrofit market in Northern Ireland, including a public body with responsibility for running retrofit schemes. SSE also stated that achieving the higher energy efficiency band across building stock would amount to energy savings of up to £700 per household and reduce each household's carbon output by 3·7 tons. It also makes sense for our economy, since the ambition to retrofit our homes will drive innovation and a new generation of green jobs with increased demand for technical skills that can align with such a programme. Those skills will primarily be found in our further education colleges, representing a significant opportunity for that sector. We also cannot overestimate the health benefits of such a retrofit programme. Our cold draughty homes drive illness and chronic pain across all our communities. I have come across more people than I care to who have bronchitis or are suffering from asthma because of the mould in their home. Our health service cannot cope with that, and it can least afford that demand on it at this time. In May 2023, the Forum for a Better Housing Market published research that found that Northern Ireland lags behind other regions in decarbonisation. That was found to be partly because a lacklustre approach has been permitted to be fostered, thanks to a fragmented policy landscape with a lack of agreed targets and associated milestones. The progress on that has also been frustrated by the constant instability of government here. In 2020, a report was produced to inform the evidence base of the energy strategy. It found that we need to drive the retrofitting of more than 50,000 buildings per year in Northern Ireland, which was more than treble the rate at the time, and that a dramatic change in policy extent and funding levels is required. I welcome hearing from the Minister that departmental officials are preparing a public consultation on the low-carbon heat support scheme in line with action 8 of the energy strategy action plan. It is also good to hear recently from the Minister about a consultation on evidence-based options for a domestic energy efficiency programme in line with action 7 of the same action plan. Many people were rightly concerned by the closure of the boiler replacement scheme last September due to budgetary constraints. I hope that it goes without saying that new schemes must be targeted at disadvantaged areas. In response to the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee's inquiry into renewable energy and net zero, Queen's University Belfast has said that concentrating home retrofitting in those areas with the lowest incomes initially can help to tackle fuel poverty, reduce emissions, produce positive health outcomes and offer new forms of social and economic regeneration.

If we are to reach our net zero targets, however, we need to take really bold steps, including some on a cross-departmental basis, particularly given the Department for Communities' lead on the residential building section of the climate action plan (CAP). We need to step up and lean into the retrofitting agenda without delay and end the lack of urgency that has characterised the issue.

The proposal is ambitious by its nature, but ambition is sorely needed. We have the least energy-efficient homes of any country in western Europe. I will say that again: we have the least energy-efficient homes of any country in western Europe. Houses here lose heat up to three times faster than those of our neighbours. Changing that in the North will require us to look at our regulations and the housing that we invest in. We all heard the worrying evidence last week that the Budget will allow for just 400 new homes to be built, half the number that the Northern Ireland Federation of Housing Associations views as the worst-case scenario. We are building nowhere near the number of homes that we need, and the homes that we are building are not fit for purpose from an energy-efficiency standpoint. We support the call from the Northern Ireland Federation of Housing Associations for a ring-fenced section of the Westminster social housing decarbonisation fund of £3·8 billion to help to deliver that transition. The federation has been clear that it is a fundamental requirement of the Executive to develop a plan to improve energy efficiency, including through funding areas that can demonstrate need. I acknowledge that social housing can be only the start of our efforts. While 79% of social housing has an energy-efficiency rating between A and C, only 43% of private-rental dwellings share such a rating. We cannot limit our ambition to social housing. We need to consider how to retrofit our schools, hospitals and other public buildings. We can start with our social housing, and we can start now. By working together across the Chamber, we can deliver change, make progress on energy efficiency and bring costs down for our consumers — our constituents.

1,373 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 10:44 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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