Homeowners can go green with new credit union loan

BANTRY Credit Union is one of a group of eight credit unions that has launched a new green home improvement loan.

Called Greenify, this is a new brand that will provide access to green finance for retrofit and other green home improvement works.

Bantry Credit Union’s manager Finbarr O’Shea represented the eight Greenify credit unions as official spokesperson at the launch.

The event also featured some of the industry’s leading experts in an online webinar hosted by Helen Carroll of RTÉ’s Ear to the Ground, and included a thought-provoking keynote from well-known architect and environmentalist Duncan Stewart.

Finbarr said: ‘Bantry Credit Union is delighted to be part of the launch of Greenify because we believe there is significant demand for green finance amongst homeowners in our area. We want our members to be able to start their green journeys at home – investing in a retrofit project that will both enhance the comfort of their homes and do their bit towards protecting the environment.

‘Having an expert panel with the likes of Duncan Stewart really confirms what we have long believed: there is a need to change our collective behaviours and that homeowners need financial support to do this. The green transition will not happen without finance. The Greenify loan will be a core part of Bantry Credit Union’s offering.’

Greenify loans can be used for a range of projects including a home retrofit project (from shallow to deep), exterior or interior wall insulation, attic insulation, heat pump installations or solar panels/systems. Participating credit unions are willing to look at any energy-efficiency or energy-reduction project which results in an improvement in the BER of the home.

Finbarr added: ‘We are responding to both a climate and a financial demand. Credit unions are passionate about this because our members are. What we do now or indeed fail to do will affect future generations. Our members are conscious of the big climate challenges that we are all facing, but they are also concerned about the rising costs to heat their homes.

‘We are confident that this path towards greenification is the right one to help our members and our planet. We are just at the beginning of our green journey, and we are excited to work with our members to help them to greenify their lives.’

He concluded: ‘Our approach is to keep the application process simple for the homeowner, support local tradespeople, deliver a professional service and above all, keep it green.’

For more information see greenify.ie.