Number of homes retrofit in 2026 won't be "anywhere near" target - Council

Louth County Council have said it expects the number of homes retrofit in 2026 to be "nowhere near" its original target, with Ardee expected to have 40 units completed this year.

Councillors were told at the February meeting of Ardee Municipal District that the number of completions is set to fall short of its original county-wide target of 300. 

Declan Grimes from Louth County Council was responding to a query from Sinn Féin councillor Pearse McGeough who asked for an update on the progress of the units and how many Ardee would be allocated.

Mr Grimes acknowledged that councillors had been previously told there would be 300 retrofits in 2026.

"We were hopeful to get 300 retrofits under the energy retrofit programme, we didn’t have final approval at the time from the department and that was what he had hoped to get," he said.  

Retrofitting is the process of upgrading your home to improve its energy efficiency though insulation, heating systems, solar panels and heat pumps.

Read Next: Louth County Council announces Amenity Grant Scheme for 2026

Mr Grimes confirmed that Louth County Council retrofitted 142 units in 2025. He said it had been given approval to go ahead with 65% its 2025 output, which is just over 90 units. 

However, Mr Grimes said Louth County Council is hopeful it will get to 200 units in 2026. 

He said Louth County Council is currently working out where the 2026 works will be allocated between the three municipal districts. Mr Grimes said he expects it to be carried out on a pro-rata basis, and said Ardee will likely get 40 units completed. 

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.