Environmental campaigners have sent a 50-point plan to the Government proposing ways to ditch fossil fuels.
Friends of the Earth compiled the list after conducting a survey that showed four out of five people wanted to move away from fossil fuel heating in their homes but most said affordable alternatives must come first.
The organisation said the changes could happen simultaneously but the key was to get moving on both immediately.
It is calling for a “warmer homes before winter” strategy to rapidly increase attic and cavity wall insulation over the coming months before the weather turns cold.
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There must be a clear timeline for the phase-out of new oil and gas boilers, it argues, accompanied by supports to make heat pumps cheaper than new boilers. It also recommends removing VAT on all materials and labour for all energy efficiency works and heat pump insulation.
Clearing away any regulatory hurdles to homeowners and renters using balcony solar panels is also on the list, which urges an expansion of the Warmer Homes Scheme providing free retrofits to low-income homeowners to include renters in long-term lets.
Expanding the school bus fleet, introducing free travel periods on public transport and extending the solar schools programme to childcare facilities, public buildings and community hubs are also recommended.
Friends of the Earth said it recognises the hardships of people in energy poverty and that financial supports will be necessary even if they are spent on fossil fuels. But it says they should be targeted to those who need them rather distributed as universal payments.
It proposes several sources of funding for the initiatives, including a windfall levy on excess profits made by energy companies benefiting from increases in oil and gas prices. It says ending fossil fuel subsidies which cost the State billions of euro per year - €4.7 billion in 2024 - could also free up public financing.
Friends of the Earth chief executive Deirdre Duffy said the recent geopolitical shocks and energy price spikes had exposed the dangers of Ireland’s continued reliance on imported oil and gas.
“The solution cannot be to double down on the system that created the crisis in the first place,” she said.
“We need to prioritise cheaper, secure electricity for households and businesses. The vast majority of the Irish public agree with this approach.”
Its survey of 1,774 people found 82 per cent favoured moving away from fossil fuel heating while just 16 per cent wanted things to stay as they were.
A minority, 16 per cent, said the move should happen quickly but 66 per cent said affordable alternatives must be in place first.
The majority, 86 per cent, backed the idea of tackling electricity prices to make the switch to electricity easier, while the same proportion supported providing grants to cover the upfront costs of switching away from gas or oil.
