Energy performance is becoming a measurable financial variable in Irish homes. The Irish Independent reports that more than 40% of Bank of Ireland's Irish mortgage lending, over €17 billion of balances, now sits on its EcoSaver scheme two years after launch. The bank's half year results show about 97% of new mortgage lending uses the product, a clear signal for Irish finance leadership.

This shift deserves to be read as proof that practical incentives work. Lower rates for efficient homes have changed borrower behaviour, and that creates new advisory demand. Damien Pidgeon, the bank's head of group sustainability, said incentives encourage upgrades that cut emissions and exposure to volatile fossil fuel prices. The evidence points to three priorities for advisory firms: the scale of behaviour change, the value uplift from retrofits, and the reporting demands that follow.

Behaviour change is already visible. Almost one in five customers with a G rated property have improved their rating since taking out an EcoSaver mortgage. Among those upgrading homes first rated E to G, 70% completed deep retrofits reaching an A or B rating, while the remaining 30% improved by an average of two grades.

Value uplift strengthens the case. Research from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, covering almost 50,000 sales in 2023 and 2024, linked each BER grade improvement to a 2.7% higher selling price. Homes upgraded from G to an A or B could sell for 36% to 45% more, and improvements generally added more value than they cost, which interests corporate finance teams advising property and construction clients.

Reporting is the next frontier. Sustainable finance lent by the bank rose by €3 billion to €20.7 billion in the year to September, with a €30 billion target by 2030. Irish regulators already see assurance in practice, as the Irish Auditing and Accounting Supervisory Authority found seven audit firms gave limited assurance on seventeen first wave sustainability reports in 2025. Credible data underpins strong financial reporting.

Firms can act now in several ways. Model retrofit payback for clients using the SEAI price uplift and EcoSaver rate steps. Help property and construction clients keep clean records of BER ratings and retrofit costs. Audit professionals should prepare assurance readiness for sustainability data, even as the Omnibus I Directive narrows reporting scope to companies above 1,000 employees and €450 million turnover.

The direction of travel is encouraging for the Irish finance sector. The bank has also provided more than 9,200 first time buyer mortgages this year and is financing over 12,000 social and affordable homes. With the bank financing about 26,000 homes and targeting 30,000 by 2028, efficient housing is becoming a core business opportunity for advisers who can price, report and assure it.