A renewable energy group has described the Irish state's €100m national insulation programme as "a drop in the ocean", compared to the funds required to upgrade the local and national housing stock.

The Renewable Energy Skills Skillnet (RESS) also warned that Ireland will struggle to achieve building efficiency ratings of 60% within ten years, as envisaged by the EU.

The organisation, citing figures from a recent report by the Irish Institute for International and European Affairs, said it would cost Sligo an estimated €725m alone to achieve this target by 2018.

RESS's Johnny Flynn said: "Regrettably this insulation programme is insufficient on its own to address the task of upgrading over one million poorly insulated homes across the country."

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Mr Flynn suggested householders would need to invest a further €200m, along with the government's €100m, in order to meet 2018 standards.

"This combined €300m investment, however, will only lead to 5-10% of Ireland’s poorly insulated homes being upgraded sufficiently."

He said the government would have to provide an estimated €200m annually, for the next ten years, to ensure Ireland achieves the required building efficiency ratings.

Mr Flynn, an engineer, environmentalist and Ennis Town Councillor, claimed the poorly regulated building boom of recent decades had left Sligo householders and taxpayers to pick up the cost of retrofitting their homes.

"Central to ensuring the success of the new programme will be the quality of the initial Building Energy Regulations (BER) assessment of individual homes and the subsequent signing off of the works.

"Consumer protection is paramount and I would hope that the BER assessors being employed under this scheme will be competently qualified," he added.

(PR/JM)