May 14th conference to look at decarbonising Ireland’s building stock
Conference tackles energy poverty and impartial delivery of one-stop-shop scheme
EU legislation to decarbonise Ireland’s building stock, including residential homes, is set to be adopted into Irish law on 29 May 2026.
Decarbonising Ireland’s building stock
The Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) is the focus of a free conference hosted by the not-for-profit South East Energy Agency at the Aisling Hotel in Dublin on Thursday, May 14th 2026.The conference brings together European and Irish policymakers and stakeholders for the first time to discuss best practices and the adoption of the European Directive to achieve impartial delivery of home retrofits and to address energy poverty in Ireland.Former President, Mrs Mary Robinson, will give the opening address, via video, leading to a panel discussion on a range of issues, including:
How to effectively transpose the EPBD into national legislation to ensure its delivery in practice.
Promote energy inclusivity and identify measures to tackle energy poverty in Ireland.
Hear from EU policymakers in other EU countries.
Discuss alignment with the broader European one-stop-shop (OSS) framework by strengthening Ireland’s current implementation model (via SEAI) with the full range of OSS services, including the advice and support models to deliver impartial retrofits.
Ireland has a strong SEAI programme that delivers the Implementation Model, the retrofit work itself. However, the broader European approach recommends integrating the Advice and Support Models to provide independent guidance to homeowners on renewable technologies and grant availability, as well as hands-on assistance to help them navigate the retrofit journey and manage applications, contractors, and financing.
With just a few weeks until the Directive is passed into national law, Alex Hamilton, Head of Operations with the South East Energy Agency, explains, “Ireland’s programme is largely contractor-led. In contrast, across Europe, publicly funded bodies typically deliver the advice and support stages to ensure independence and value for money, with contractors appointed afterwards. Integrating all three models in Irish legislation is one of the key messages we hope to deliver on May 14th. We are looking forward to hearing from our EU counterparts to develop the best approach here in Ireland.
Stakeholders across the supply chain, whether it’s architects, energy assessors, contractors or financiers, must come together to provide an integrated service if Ireland is to address the current shortfall and effectively deliver this Directive in practice, particularly for those experiencing energy poverty.” She said.
The conference will hear from representatives of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), and the Irish Green Building Council in the morning, followed by a panel discussion on One-Stop-Shop definitions featuring Silvio De Nigris, Sustainable Energy Department in Piemonte, Italy, the Irish Green Building Council and EU Peers.
Two afternoon workshops will explore one-stop-shop models, particularly OOS Advice and OOS Support structures, and public procurement and carbon pricing.
“In the current environment, there is a growing appetite among homeowners to retrofit their properties and invest in technologies such as heat pumps and solar EV solutions. However, many homeowners find the grant process very challenging. With waiting lists of up to two years for those seeking 100% grant support, the retrofit process is effectively stalled for those who need it most. We therefore need to look at the entire delivery system to ensure it is working optimally if we are to make any headway in decarbonising Ireland’s homes.” Hamilton concluded. To learn more, visit https://southeastenergy.ie/event/joint-national-conference-2026-eu-peers-%c2%b7-scepa-%c2%b7-decarb-pro/
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