Chimneys were being taken off council owned houses in Kerry and this was "nonsensical" in the light of recent weather events, a council meeting in Killorglin has heard.
The practice of taking the chimneys off houses should cease particularly in the light of the electricity outages in Kerry and elsewhere, independent councillor Jackie Healy-Rae proposed.
Roofs are currently being taken off social houses in Kilgarvan so that the chimneys could be removed and the house be made more airtight in order to achieve higher energy efficiency in line with national guidelines, the meeting of the Kenmare Municipal District was told.
However, what Kerry County Council were doing was "the talk of the parish and beyond" Councillor Johnny Healy-Rae said.
Whoever would be allocated those two houses now would have "no gas ring, way to boil a kettle and no open fire and no way of heating themselves" in the event of future massive weather events and power outages.
The councillor questioned the policy of total dependence on electricity especially when weather knocked out the power.
To make matters worse, the houses where the chimneys were being removed in Kilgarvan were opposite the local power station, he said.
"These two houses are facing the (ESB) substation in Kilgarvan and they will be looking at the substation and they will have no heat and not be able to boil a kettle. It's nonsensical," he said of the policy of removing chimneys for energy efficiency.
Fresh air was good for people and was what people needed, he also said.
"I can't understand the obsession with sealing the house to the 'nth degree," Mr Healy-Rae said.
The whole back roof of the Kilgarvan houses was being taken off so the chimneys could be removed and the cost was probably enormous.
His proposal that no more chimneys be removed was seconded by Fine Gael councillor Teddy O'Sullivan Casey.
Mr Casey said there were other ways to make chimneys airtight.
"Surely a chimney could be blocked?" the councillor said.
John Kennelly, acting director of services for housing with Kerry County Council, said it was not always necessary to remove the chimneys.
However air tightness was needed to achieve better energy efficiency under the energy efficiency retrofit programme from the Department of Housing.
Air tightness was needed for air to water heating and ultimately this would save on fuel costs for tenants, Mr Kennelly said.
The meeting also heard how the council could provide grants for second hand stand-alone oil and gas boilers, but not new boilers.
This was like saying you would be funded to buy a second hand car, but not a new one, Mr Healy-Rae said.
In a statement the council said that it was obliged to increase the energy efficiency of owned properties "to a minimum cost optimal or B2 BER level".
The council said that funding to carry out retrofit works is generally provided by the Department of Housing which, the council said, has "further technical requirements".
It said that in able to install a heat pump in a property, the property needs to meet a "certain Heat Loss Indicator value".
The council said: "In an effort to increase air tightness and to reduce heat losses to be able to install the heat pump the chimney is generally blocked up and the chimney capped.
"Occasionally Kerry County Council remove a chimney while a house is undergoing renovations."
A spokesman for Kerry County Council said: "Under current Irish legislation, according to Statutory Instrument 749 of 2024, from 1 January 2025, public bodies shall not provide any financial incentives for the installation of stand-alone boilers powered by fossil fuels."
