9th February 2026
Minister Lyons launches Warm Healthy Homes Strategy for Northern Ireland
Communities Minister Gordon Lyons (left) pictured at the launch of the Warm Healthy Homes Strategy in Belfast with John McMullan, Vice Chair, Northern Ireland Housing Executive; and householder Trevor Rainey, who had a Low Carbon retrofit upgrade fitted to his home by NIHE last summer.
Speaking after visiting a home in Hopewell Crescent, Belfast to launch ‘Warm Healthy Homes: A Northern Ireland Fuel Poverty Strategy 2026-2036’, Minister Lyons said:
“I am pleased to launch the Warm Healthy Homes strategy, a new approach that has secured Executive backing and which will help lift families out of fuel poverty. This is a comprehensive 10-year strategy to ensure that cold, damp homes become a thing of the past. Fuel poverty affects nearly one in four households, and its consequences are linked to poor health and financial stress, particularly for the less well off. This strategy sets out a clear pathway to change that.”
The Minister continued:
“Together with the draft Anti-Poverty Strategy and the Housing Supply Strategy, the Warm Healthy Homes Strategy will tackle the root causes of fuel poverty and provide meaningful measures and actions which will make a real difference to people across Northern Ireland.
“As part of the strategy, I will introduce a new Warm Healthy Homes Fund next year, for which I intend to allocate £150million to deliver of energy efficiency investment in its first five years. This fund will transform low-income households, modernising energy inefficient homes. Through this fund, along with energy wellbeing advice from trusted partners in the community, I want to ensure those worst affected have the information and means to upgrade their homes for the better. I also want to improve housing standards and my Department has already begun consulting on a revised Decent Homes Standard for social housing.”
Householder Trevor Rainey, who had a Low Carbon retrofit upgrade fitted to his home by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive last summer, said:
“Since the work was done my bills are a lot lower, the house is warmer and the hot water is great in the mornings. I’d recommend it to anyone.”
The Minister was also joined by a range of stakeholders and partners.
Christine Irvine, Senior Policy Manager, Marie Curie NI, said:
“We know that being in the last year of life is a significant risk factor for people falling into fuel poverty. Marie Curie research has shown that almost 1 in 3 people in the last year of life (27%) are estimated to be in fuel poverty in Northern Ireland, with rates of pensioner fuel poverty higher here than in any other part of the UK. Therefore, we’re very pleased to see that the Warm Healthy Homes Strategy specifically references people at end of life, and we look forward to seeing a follow-up action plan which outlines the practical steps that will be taken to better identify those at risk and to ensure that support is offered to people who need it.”
Raymond Gormley, Head of Energy Policy, Consumer Council for Northern Ireland said:
“We know there are too many people in Northern Ireland struggling to heat their homes adequately and the Consumer Council believes that the Warm Healthy Homes Strategy represents a real opportunity to deliver long-term, sustainable solutions to help alleviate fuel poverty.”
Nigel Brady, Director of Bryson Pathways, said:
“Bryson Charitable Group has long understood the importance of tackling the root causes of fuel poverty. We welcome the Strategy’s aim of targeting those most in need of assistance and endorse its vision of a warm, healthy home for everyone.”
Pat Austin, Director, National Energy Action NI, said:
“This strategy has real ambition and needs to deliver for all but it will only succeed if it is backed by significant and sustained investment. The Executive now has both the framework and an opportunity to move at pace to implement this strategy in a way that delivers meaningful and lasting change for fuel-poor households.”
John French, Chief Executive of the Utility Regulator, says,
“The Utility Regulator welcomes today’s launch of the Warm and Healthy Homes Strategy. This strategy represents a significant opportunity for Northern Ireland to place consumers at the centre of our energy future and ensure that energy bills remain affordable for all. The Utility Regulator is committed to working in partnership with stakeholders to support the delivery of the strategy, so that everyone in Northern Ireland can live in a warm and healthy home.”
John McMullan, Vice Chair of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, said:
“It has been our experience that, by delivering energy‑efficiency measures, households’ energy costs can be greatly reduced and their comfort is increased. Vitally, sustained investment in improving the quality, comfort and performance in housing goes some way to improving the health and wellbeing of households. Therefore, we warmly welcome the Warm Healthy Homes Strategy and the Minister’s long‑term commitment to tackling fuel poverty. For our part, the NIHE looks forward to being a key delivery partner for the strategy.”
The full Warm Healthy Homes: A Northern Ireland Fuel Poverty Strategy 2026-2036 document is available at: Communities NI
The Minister has made a written ministerial statement to the Assembly statement: Communities NI
