‘Their bills are astronomical’ – Louth tenants hit with €2,000 cost of ‘flawed’ heating system

By Olivia Ryan, The Drogheda Independent

Residents of a new housing development in Louth are facing “astronomical” energy bills of up to €2,000 per month, a local councillor has warned.

The “exorbitant” heating costs at Tullybrook Court, a Clúid Housing development in Drogheda, were raised again at this month’s meeting of the Drogheda Borough District, with councillors told the situation has deteriorated despite being highlighted publicly last year.

Cllr Declan Power said residents first appealed for help in Autumn 2025, complaining of what they describe as a “flawed and inefficient smart electrical heating system” in the duplex apartments.

“There has been no resolution to this whatsoever, and I am calling for the council to really engage with Clúid on this,” he told the meeting.

He said Clúid had initially responded by placing information leaflets through tenants’ doors, attempting to explain how to manage the system. But householders, he said, were now facing bills that were completely unaffordable.

“Their bills are astronomical. One resident got a bill for €2,000, another for €1,200, and many more are being hit with €600 or €700. That is not affordable for families living in social housing, many of whom are one‑parent families,” he said.

Cllr Power added that some residents had contacted the Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS) because they had fallen so far into debt.

“They just can’t pay these bills. People are asking how they can get on the council’s transfer list just to get out of this situation,” he said.

The councillor also reported that tenants in Ballymakenny Drive, another new development, were experiencing unexpectedly high energy costs, receiving electricity bills for several hundred euro shortly after moving in.

Responding, Declan Grimes, Senior Engineer (Housing) at Louth County Council, told members he understood the issue of high bills at Tullybrook Court had been resolved. However, he vowed to contact Clúid urgently.

“There is no way a tenant should be expected to pay those types of bills,” he said. “No one should be expected to pay that money, whether they are in a payment plan or not.”

Cllr Eric Donovan said that although Tullybrook Court is managed by an Approved Housing Body (AHB), the council also bears responsibility as many tenants were on the council’s Choice-Based Letting system for years.

“I think Clúid need to be held to a higher standard,” he said. “These houses in Tullybrook are not fit for purpose in terms of the heating energy system.”

He said the homes had a BER rating of A2, but the space‑heating category was marked as “very poor”—a contradiction that he said required urgent investigation.

Cllr Donovan said he was particularly appalled by advice allegedly given to one struggling tenant that they should “work on managing their budget”.

“One of the biggest concerns I have is that this was raised months ago with Clúid. They came out and put up sensors to collect data, but they never came back to collect them. Then they sent out a letter saying they are happy with the heating systems and everything is working. That is just shocking,” he said.

He urged the council to intervene directly: “They are going to have to get their system in order.”