Provision of the services of a One Stop Shop (OSS) partner to support deep energy retrofit of domestic homes in County Mayo as part of a Retrofitting-Restoration Pilot

During 2024, Wild Atlantic Nature commenced a pilot project of a number of houses in Owenduff/Nephin Complex SAC, Co. Mayo. This is a voluntary pilot programme with a limited number of places. Previous Wild Atlantic Nature RBPS participants from the Owenduff/Nephin Complex SAC were considered as potential participants in the pilot programme and were invited to express an interest in this programme. Applicants are being shortlisted based on a range of criteria including aspects related to turbary rights claims and ownership of lands within the SAC, home ownership, date of build and occupancy, primary residence and social welfare. Whether or not applicants cut or burned turf will not influence the selection process. Participants will be required to enter a legal agreement to identify sites on their lands for peatland restoration activities and also agree to cease turf-cutting activities or refrain from future turf-cutting. The pilot project is being undertaken in phases. The first phase has involved the recruitment of a small number of homeowners to go through the full process of a deep retrofit of their homes and restoration of their peatlands. To date the project has engaged four landowners to participate in phase one of the pilot. These four landowners have had a Home Energy Assessment (HEA) undertaken on their primary residences. The second phase has involved inviting Expressions of Interest (EOIs) from all previous Wild Atlantic Nature RBPS participants from the Owenduff/Nephin Complex SAC, with 38 eligible EOIs received. Those that qualify for participation in the scheme, as per the criteria outlined above, will be offered a HEA, with the top prioritised applicants offered a deep retrofit of their homes (expected to be up to 20). LIFE IP Wild Atlantic Nature will provide finance for applicants who wish to proceed with the deep retrofit of their home through the OSS model up to €40,000 (or €50,000 for those entitled to fuel allowance), plus any applicable SEAI grants. In cases where the retrofit cost is above the rate covered by Wild Atlantic Nature and the SEAI grants, homeowners will need to cover the excess costs. In addition, if homeowners wish to select supplementary retrofit measures for their homes in excess of what is covered by the SEAI grants and the allowable financial support from Wild Atlantic Nature, this will be at their own expense. Concurrently to the deep retrofit of homes, applicants will be entering a contract with NPWS to have turbary areas on their lands restored and sustainably managed. Tenders are invited for a suitable contractor to undertake individual HEAs on up to 38 eligible homes and deliver the deep energy retrofits of up to four residential detached homes over the course of this phase of the pilot. This is likely to be within the next calendar year.