Irish Green Building Council’s Reaction to Budget 2027 

The Irish Green Building Council (IGBC) welcomes the new investment in housing, retrofit and infrastructure announced in Budget 2027. However, despite this scale of public spending, the Budget misses a critical opportunity to use public investment and procurement to strengthen long term resilience and reduce Ireland’s exposure to external energy shocks. 

The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland’s (SEAI) budget increased from €640 million to €645.5 million to support residential and community energy upgrades. IGBC welcomes the enhanced renewable energy and retrofit grants announced on the 6th of October including support for solar PV and a boiler scrappage scheme. Increased grants for businesses installing solar thermal systems and heat pumps are also positive steps towards reducing energy costs and dependence on fossil fuels. However, the relatively modest increase in SEAI funding raises questions about whether investment is keeping pace with the scale of Ireland’s retrofit and decarbonisation needs. A sustained, long-term approach is essential to give households and businesses the confidence to invest in energy efficiency. 

The proposed introduction of a Derelict Property Tax in the forthcoming Finance Bill, alongside €350 million for urban regeneration, is also welcome. These measures could help bring vacant and derelict buildings back into productive use, revitalise existing communities and reduce the need for new construction. 

However, Budget 2027 falls short of the ambition needed to drive a systemic transition to a low-carbon, resilient and nature-positive built environment. Key gaps include: 

• A missed opportunity to leverage public investment and support adaptive reuse: Despite substantial spending on housing and infrastructure, the Budget does not go far enough in using public procurement and investment to drive low-carbon construction, resource efficiency and make Ireland more resilient to volatile energy prices and other external shocks. In particular, it is regrettable that Budget 2027 does not provide sufficient additional investment or a coordinated strategy to unlock the full potential of vacant and derelict buildings as a source of sustainable, affordable housing. Greater support for adaptive reuse and regeneration would help reduce carbon emissions, limit pressure for new development on greenfield sites, and revitalise towns and communities across Ireland. 

• Reducing carbon tax on natural gas and kerosene to €48.50 per tonne of CO₂ for the lifetime of the Government risks weakening the price signal for transitioning away from fossil fuels. A consistent approach should support the transition to cleaner energy while ensuring that vulnerable households are protected and that climate action remains adequately funded. 

• Biodiversity investment and planning reform must go hand in hand: The absence of dedicated, ring-fenced funding for nature restoration fails to reflect the scale of investment required to meet Ireland’s biodiversity obligations and strengthen climate resilience and support sustainable development. From a built environment point of view, this is particularly concerning as a coordinated national approach to biodiversity and planning, backed by adequate investment in nature restoration and ecological data, is essential to deliver both nature recovery and development certainty.  Nature restoration should be treated as an essential part of the country’s climate and infrastructure planning, rather than a separate policy concern. 

Overall, Budget 2027 contains welcome measures for retrofit, regeneration and housing delivery, but does not fully connect these investments to a wider strategy for decarbonisation, biodiversity and resilience. Ireland needs a more joined-up, long-term approach that aligns housing and infrastructure spending with climate and nature objectives. Stronger public procurement requirements, sustained investment in building regeneration and renovation, adequate funding for nature restoration and consistent signals to transition away from fossil fuels would help ensure that public spending delivers lasting environmental, social and economic benefits.