House wrap in Laois

SEAI pays the same grant in every county. The walls aren't the same. Against the national figures, these are the things that stand out in Laois, from Portlaoise, Portarlington and Mountmellick to the rest of the county:

• 17% of Laois's pre-2011 walls have no insulation, against 21% nationally, the 16th highest of the 26 counties. That's a main wall with a U-value of 1.0 or worse on the BER, the wall the wrap does most for.
• Only 32% of Laois homes were built before 1981, against 41% nationally (Census 2022). Newer homes are more likely to have some insulation in the walls already.
• Only 12% of Laois's hollow block walls have no insulation, against 35% nationally. Most hollow block here already has some insulation, often dry lining, which leaves the wrap open as a second wall measure.
• 19% of Laois homes heat mainly with coal, peat or wood, against 9% nationally (Census 2022). A stove or open fire needs an air supply, often a vent through an outside wall, and every vent and pipe has to be moved out to the new face of the wrap. Ask how the quote deals with them.

Laois and Ireland compared

Households, year built and home type: CSO Census 2022 (table F2007A), councils in the county added together. BER figures: SEAI BER Research Tool, the full public file downloaded 29 October 2026: 751,700 certificates for existing homes built before 2011, leaving out the BERs done for grant claims. Degree days near Portlaoise: our sum from Met Éireann's 1991–2020 grid. Ranks are ours, 1st being the highest.

Next door, the share of pre-2011 walls with no insulation: Offaly 20%, Kildare 15%, Carlow 16%, Kilkenny 18%, Tipperary 24%. All 26 counties side by side.

The grant follows the home type. Since 27 July 2026 the wrap is exempted development on a house if it's no more than 150 mm thick on the front, rear or gable, doesn't encroach on a public road, and doesn't make the house look out of character with its neighbours (S.I. No. 341 of 2026). That last test matters most where houses share a wall and a street line: semi-detached and terraced houses are 40% of Laois homes, against 45% nationally.

Share of households: CSO Census 2022, table F2007A. Grants: seai.ie wall insulation page, checked 29 October 2026.

A house that opens straight onto the footpath, a protected structure or a home in an Architectural Conservation Area should check with the council first, and a Section 5 declaration gives a formal answer. Planning permission for the wrap has the detail, and finishes covers keeping the look in character.

The grant is the same in Laois as in every other county: a fixed amount by home type, whatever the contractor charges. There is no higher welfare rate for the wrap.

seai.ie wall insulation page, checked 29 October 2026.

What's left after the grant, on SEAI's national median costs for January to June 2026. SEAI publishes no Laois median, and we don't invent one:

Costs: SEAI median costs, January to June 2026, from SEAI's median costs PDF (a sample of 23,412 completed upgrades; the cost each contractor submitted to SEAI at grant payment; VAT status not stated on the PDF), read 29 October 2026. *SEAI's apartment median comes from five completed homes, so no cost after the grant is shown. Grants: seai.ie wall insulation page, checked 29 October 2026.

• A home built and occupied before 31 December 2010, with an MPRN
• Every external wall fully insulated: partial insulation isn't eligible
• A U-value of 0.27 W/m²K or better on the wrapped wall (SEAI quality alert)
• An SEAI-registered contractor, and SEAI's grant offer before work starts

The rules in full: house wrap grant, cost, external, internal or cavity and the second wall grant. Over 66 or on Fuel Allowance? See the grant for pensioners.