Developing an ambitious National Building Renovation Plan 

Ireland has made significant progress on energy renovation in recent years, but a lot more work needs to be done. The Irish Green Building Council (IGBC) has taken an important step in driving this transition with a recent workshop on the development of the country’s first National Building Renovation Plan. The event, held in July 2025, brought together over 30 key stakeholders from government, industry, and civil society to identify barriers and propose solutions to accelerating energy renovation and decarbonising Ireland’s building stock.  

The workshop forms part of Ireland’s response to the recast Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EU 2024/1275) (EPBD), which requires all member states to set out detailed roadmaps for the full decarbonisation of their national building stock by 2050. Ireland’s first draft building renovation plan is due to be submitted to the European Commission by the end of 2025, with a public consultation likely to take place in the Autumn. 

Key Barriers Identified

Discussions highlighted several obstacles slowing the pace of energy renovation across both residential and non-residential sectors. Financial challenges remain the most pressing, with many households and small businesses caught in an “affordability gap” where existing grants do not fully meet needs. Split incentives between landlords and tenants, along with intricate application processes, further complicate progress. 

Awareness and information gaps were also raised, with participants noting that many homeowners and SMEs lack reliable, impartial advice on retrofit options. Skills shortages across the construction sector, insufficient data on actual building performance, and concerns about over-reliance on Building Energy Ratings (BERs) in policymaking were also emphasised. 

Practical Tools and Recommendations

Despite these challenges, participants put forward a range of potential solutions. One of the proposals included simplifying and improving existing grants to help make energy renovation more accessible to groups at risk of energy poverty. IGBC have consistently championed the improvement of grants to address this affordability gap, and the findings of this workshop solidify its continuing importance. 

Participants also stressed the need for a nationwide network of local “energy renovation hubs” as a critical step. These centres, potentially based in libraries or local community spaces, could provide trusted, independent advice to households and small businesses. This suggestion could also contribute to another one of the EPBD’s requirements (Art. 18), which requires each member state to establish “information hubs” (called ‘one-stop-shops’) for improving the energy performance of buildings. 

For non-residential buildings, stronger regulatory tools were discussed, including renovation passports, which member states are required to introduce as a scheme under article 12 of the EPBD, and a proposed “NCT for buildings” to monitor real-world energy use. Participants also highlighted the potential of green lease clauses improving the exchange of data between tenants and landlords and addressing performance gaps while procurement tools like a “CO₂ performance ladder” could incentivise energy upgrades across the commercial sector. 

Next Steps

The findings from the workshop will inform the public consultation on the first draft of Ireland’s National Building Renovation Plan. The plan will set out milestones for 2030, 2040, and 2050 as well as information on the level of investment needed in the coming years. However, what is paramount to this process is that all stakeholders adopt a coordinated approach to address the urgent priorities identified during the workshop. Clearer communication from government on the priority being given to renovation and reuse over new builds, targeted financial incentives, and investment in data and skills must be given precedent if Ireland is to meet its climate commitments and reduce energy costs for households and businesses alike. 

The IGBC will continue to convene stakeholders in the months ahead, including a dedicated workshop on public buildings planned for autumn 2025. We strongly encourage IGBC members to take part and contribute their views to the public consultation process. 

This workshop was organised as part of the #BuildingLife project. You can read the key findings here.