The team of the Dublin based EnergyMeasurespartner ,Energy Action’ share insights to peer organisations fighting energy vulnerability all over Ireland.
When the EnergyMeasures project was kicked-off in late summer 2020, none of the partners knew that a few months later a war on the European continent and record inflation would make energy prices and vulnerability an issue that would reach far into Europe’s middle classes. Energy vulnerability has become a widespread problem and a major topic. This makes ways to support households in the fight against immense energy costs all the more urgent – and in demand. The Energy Action team therefore shares its experience with other organizations and charities.
In training sessions, Charles Roarty and G. Mc Gough of Energy Action share helpful insights with the staff of ALONE (https://alone.ie). The organization is active all over Ireland and helps enabling elderly people to age in their ownhomes. ALONE work with people who are lonely and feel isolated, frail or ill. The charity also targets homeless people and households living in poverty or struggling with other difficulties.
The Energy Action team has a long experience in helping vulnerable households manage energy costs and use energy efficiently at home. The experience from the EnergyMeasures project is now shared with the ALONE team through workshops. The aim is to support households in seven different regions of Ireland with useful tips and guidance on how to respond to rising energy prices across the country.
“ALONE hope to learn from this EU project as a pilot and then deliver the programme nationwide after the end of EnergyMeasures. This is a good example of dissemination and of an EU Horizon project being continued”, Charles Roarty of Energy Actions explains.
And ALONE is not the only organisation in Ireland to benefit from the knowledge and experience gained from the EnergyMeasures project, as Roarty says: „Energy Action is also involved in a weekly training series with Dublin City Council tenants where there are 391 flats in the Olivet Bond Complex. This is in partnership with the local Robert Emmet Community Project, which supports tenants.”
Energy Action was founded in 1998 to support people in need by insulating their dwellings free of charge. These homes are insulated by previously long-term unemployed people. They would be trained to provide this service and hopefully converted into permanent full-time employment that is creative, sustainable and environmentally conscious. Energy Action is part of the EnergyMeasures consortium and works in the project mainly on the implementation of household energy engagement programmes.