Caoimhe Archibald MLA, Sinn Féin Economy Spokesperson, has said support for home and business retrofitting is essential for any green economic recovery.

The East Derry MLA was speaking following news that the British government intends to introduce a voucher scheme to partially cover the costs of retrofitting for homeowners.

Caoimhe Archibald MLA said:

“For some time now Sinn Féin have been calling for a green and just stimulus-led economic recovery from COVID-19 disruption.

“An important and essential step in rapidly reducing our emissions is not using and wasting energy in the first place. 

“By providing state support to encourage and reduce the cost of home retrofitting we can rapidly improve energy efficiency, while providing a huge stimulus to a hard-hit construction industry by creating good-quality green jobs. 

“Options should also be explored to encourage and incentivise businesses to retrofit to reduce their energy us.

“A wide-ranging retrofitting program can also advance the need for a Just Transition, by tackling and improving extremely high rates of fuel poverty in the North.

“For these reasons retrofitting for all homes and businesses should be an essential part of any economic recovery strategy, by creating decent green jobs, tackling poverty, and rapidly reducing our emissions.”