A HOMEOWNER HAS been told by a county council to remove insulation he installed on his house – or face a €5,000 fine or jail.

South Dublin County Council has told Clive Ryan to submit retrospective planning permission for the insulation for the front of his home in Kilnamanagh, in the Ballymount area, which was added on almost seven years ago.

The letter told Ryan that he had to “cease and discontinue the use of the insulation” and to “remove the insulation and, in so far as is practicable, reinstate the facade to its condition prior to the commencement of the development”.

Otherwise, under the terms of the Planning and Development Act 2000, he could face a fine which can reach up to €5,000, or even a jail term for up to six months.

Ryan told The Journal that he finds the case “baffling”, explaining that while the insulation expanded the facade of the house, it is not visible when looking at the home.

“It probably moves the house forward a few inches – that’s what the insulation does. But that’s the only logical thing I can come up with,” Ryan added as to why the case has arisen.

“The rest of the house is done like every other house. The insulation is just around the window. It’s not a new structure, we tried to finish it as neat and as clean as we could.”

Clive Ryan outside his home in Kilnamanagh, south Dublin Clive Ryan Clive Ryan

Ryan said the situation is all the more confounding as he received a grant worth more than €4,000 to help pay for the costs from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland. The other €13,000 came from his own pocket.

I would recommend getting the insulation to anyone. We’ve seen huge savings in our heating bills. But, if I had known I would have to go through this with the council, I would have never got the work done.

The decision has been criticised by People Before Profit which said that Ryan was one of many people who have followed government advice to retrofit their homes, thereby reducing emissions and heating bills.

While some forms of insulation and solar panels are exempt from planning permission, the party’s representatives said the situation with insulation for external walls is “less clear” for homeowners.

“All the way down thinking I was doing the right thing,” Ryan told The Journal. “It was taking my bills down considerably but I got a knock at the door last year from the council and was told that I would need to submit planning permission for the insulation.”

He recently received a letter saying that the council will send a team to remove the insulation in June if it is not approved.

Ryan has applied for planning permission to retain the installation, but it has yet to be accepted as a valid permission by the local council.

“If it’s not approved I can be left with the cost of the crew for taking it down,” Ryan said.

“This was something we were incentivised to do – we even got a government grant for it. We were encouraged to do it and now I’m being penalised for it.”

Local People Before Profit councillor Jess Spear said that the council’s actions have “caused anxiety and frustration”, and questioned the thought process behind the move.

“And for what? Because the outside of the home looks slightly different from the one next to it,” she added.

“Is this really how we should respond to a homeowner reducing their emissions – tell them they have to take it down or the council will, and not only that but they could be fined and imprisoned? We should be facilitating people to insulate their homes, not putting up barriers.”

The party’s Dublin South West TD Paul Murphy asked parliamentary questions of the Housing Minister James Browne, querying whether planning permission is required for insulation.

In response, the minister said it is “dependent on a number of factors” and that homeowners need to engage with the local planning authority “on a case by case basis”.

While the minister said the situation is to be reviewed as part of updating regulations, Murphy has said that urgent action is needed and that his office is working on a bill to exempt external wall insulation.

“We need to urgently retrofit homes to the highest standard possible, to reduce household emissions and to reduce electricity and heating bills. The current situation is not acceptable,” Murphy said.

Council response

Senior planning officer for South Dublin County Council Mary Maguire told The Journal that, while the council does not comment on individual cases, it wants to ensure that “where unauthorised development has taken place, that any land is restored to its condition prior to any unauthorised development having taken place”.

“Similarly, we seek to address breaches of planning control which would have an unacceptable impact on the amenities of an area,” Maguire said.

The council official said the local authority also “must, subject to certain criteria, act as considered appropriate” in situations where “unauthorised development” has been carried out.