Dublin City
27.7% of homes built before 1945, 24 conservation areas. Rathmines, Ranelagh and around.
Insulation grants in Fingal
Fingal has the newest housing in Dublin. Only 3.7% of homes here predate 1945 and 31.1% went up between 2001 and 2010, so for most houses the question is cavity wall insulation rather than the expensive wall jobs the old city needs. It also has the largest share of homes too new to qualify for a grant at all.
The exception is the coastal villages. Howth, Malahide, Skerries and Balbriggan all have old cores, and all of those cores are designated.
- Free, and no obligation
- SEAI-registered contractors only
- Grant figures checked 15 August 2026
What Fingal is built from
Fingal grew late and fast. Its single biggest group of homes was built between 2001 and 2010, and almost a third of everything standing here today went up in that decade — the Swords, Donabate and Balbriggan expansion.
That creates a condition none of the other three areas has to deal with. SEAI requires a home to have been built and occupied before 31 December 2010, and 12.4% of Fingal housing went up after that, the highest share in Dublin. If your estate is newer than 2011 there's no amount of paperwork that makes it grant-eligible — and it was built to a considerably better standard anyway.
For everything from the 1970s to 2010, which is the bulk of the county, cavity wall insulation is normally the cheapest and least disruptive measure available.
The census records when a home was built, not what its walls are made of. Age is a good proxy; the actual test is a borescope through one drilled hole.
When Fingal was built
| Built | Homes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pre 1919 | 2,281 | 2.1% |
| 1919 - 1945 | 1,750 | 1.6% |
| 1946 - 1960 | 2,399 | 2.2% |
| 1961 - 1970 | 5,793 | 5.4% |
| 1971 - 1980 | 16,013 | 14.9% |
| 1981 - 1990 | 12,287 | 11.4% |
| 1991 - 2000 | 18,083 | 16.8% |
| 2001 - 2010 * | 33,463 | 31.1% |
| 2011 - 2015 | 3,616 | 3.4% |
| 2016 or later | 9,653 | 9.0% |
* the largest single group. Percentages are of 107,599 households, and exclude the small number the census records as "not stated".
Planning permission, and why the answer is local
Only external wall insulation raises this, and only where a home is a protected structure or sits inside an Architectural Conservation Area. Each local authority designates its own in its own development plan, and the four Dublin authorities have drawn them very differently.
Fingal County Council lists 27 conservation areas in the Fingal Development Plan 2023–2029. They cover the historic coastal villages and old town cores, with the modern estates around them almost entirely outside.
Fingal is also on a different planning cycle from the rest of Dublin, so checking the development plan means reading a different and more recent document here.
Ask about your specific address. These boundaries run down the middle of streets and two neighbours can get different answers.
Conservation areas in Fingal
27 listed by Fingal County Council in the Fingal Development Plan 2023–2029
Among them, village and town cores:
- Howth Historic Core
- Malahide Historic Core
- Skerries
- Lusk
- Baldoyle
The full list and the maps are published by the council. Start at Fingal County Council.
Which measure, and what it leaves you to pay
For most of Fingal the answer is cavity wall insulation. It's the cheapest measure on the list by a distance, it needs no planning permission, and it's usually finished within a day.
The old cores are the exception. A house inside the historic centre of Howth, Malahide or Skerries is likely to be solid-walled and likely to be inside a conservation area, which is the combination that makes external wall insulation both necessary and complicated.
Grant amounts are national and do not vary by address. Read from seai.ie, checked 15 August 2026.
What applies in Fingal
- Cavity wall insulation
- €285
- Attic insulation
- €601
What a semi-detached home pays after the grant, at SEAI's median installed cost. The two cheap measures, which between them cover most of the county. External wall insulation is a village-core question here.
The other three Dublin authorities
South Dublin
2.3% of homes built before 1945, 18 conservation areas. Tallaght, Clondalkin and around.
Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown
12.1% of homes built before 1945, 37 conservation areas. Dún Laoghaire, Blackrock and around.
No cost, no obligation
Get quotes from contractors working in Fingal
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Fingal insulation questions
5 questions
Do I need planning permission for external wall insulation in Fingal?
Fingal is also on a different planning cycle from the rest of Dublin, so checking the development plan means reading a different and more recent document here. Fingal County Council lists 27 conservation areas in the Fingal Development Plan 2023–2029, covering the historic coastal villages and old town cores, with the modern estates around them almost entirely outside. Ask about your specific address rather than your area.
Which insulation measure suits homes in Fingal?
For most of Fingal the answer is cavity wall insulation. It's the cheapest measure on the list by a distance, it needs no planning permission, and it's usually finished within a day. The largest single group of homes here, 31.1% of the total, was built in 2001 - 2010. A borescope through one drilled hole settles what your own wall is.
Is my Fingal home old enough to qualify?
SEAI requires the home built and occupied before 31 December 2010, with its own MPRN. 85.6% of homes in Fingal clear that — 92,069 of 107,599 households. The 12.3% built since do not, and they went up to a considerably better standard to begin with.
What was Fingal mostly built in?
2001 - 2010, which accounts for 31.1% of its housing and is the single largest group. Fingal grew late and fast. Its single biggest group of homes was built between 2001 and 2010, and almost a third of everything standing here today went up in that decade — the Swords, Donabate and Balbriggan expansion.
Does the grant change depending on where I live?
No. SEAI sets amounts by measure and dwelling type, not by address — €6,000 on a semi-detached external wall job anywhere in the country. What changes locally is which measure your house can take. The old cores are the exception. A house inside the historic centre of Howth, Malahide or Skerries is likely to be solid-walled and likely to be inside a conservation area, which is the combination that makes external wall insulation both necessary and complicated.