‘They want to keep their stoves’: Concerns over heating for rural council tenants
Concerns have been raised about heating in council homes in the Laytown-Bettystown Municipal District as older stoves and fires are removed and air-to-water heating systems are installed under retrofit programmes.
The issue was discussed at the February Municipal District meeting during consideration of the 2026 schedule of works, following a housing presentation on maintenance and upgrades in the area.
Fine Gael councillor Paddy Meade thanked the housing department for “all the work that they’re doing” but voiced concern for tenants in rural areas.
“As we move to these air-to-water heaters and we’re taking out the stoves and the fires, tenants have been contacting me because they want to keep their stoves to heat their homes,” he said.
“This week alone, a vast section of the north part of our district was without electricity,” he added, noting that the same area experienced a week-long outage at this time last year.
He warned that households relying solely on electricity could be left “with no way of heating their homes” if similar outages occur in the future.
The council confirmed that the move to air-to-water heating is driven by national policy. Cllr Meade said some residents “don’t want” the new systems.
“They want to hold on to their stoves, and I think there’s merit in that,” he added.
Cathaoirleach and Fine Gael councillor Sharon Tolan highlighted the growing impact of extreme weather.
She said: “We are experiencing more severe weather events than we have ever experienced before. When the electricity goes out, people need some heat during the winter period.”
“To heat your home is fundamental. There has to be a solution in some way, shape or form to support our residents with heat during the winter,” she added.