Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 9 February 2021

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action

Engagement with Chairperson Designate of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland

Mr. Dermot Byrne:

I thank the Deputy. Regarding the targeting of the schemes to the most at need, our warmer homes scheme is the biggest programme that we have to address fuel poverty. That is the most substantial chunk of our budget. It is €109 million in 2021. Unfortunately, last year, because of the pandemic we were not able to use our budget and there is a backlog. A key priority for us is to address that backlog. We can only work within the budgets that we have. We have the same budget this year. We are hopeful that we will make significant inroads into that backlog this year with the budget of €109 million, if contractors can get out to do the work. We have a new panel of contractors appointed and they are ready to go. As soon as the restrictions are lifted, we hope to see rapid progress in tackling that backlog.

On targeting, we work within the eligibility criteria. They were significantly opened up a couple of years ago with additional categories of people who can apply. We are heading towards deeper retrofits than previously. All that has to be factored in. The Deputy mentioned not revisiting a house that has previously been worked on. I hope that we will be able to do that in the coming years because we recognise that people are on a journey but we need to first go to the queue already there and the people who have not had anything done, and over time we will get round to delivering the full insulation allowable under the scheme.

We have more than 500 SECs now. It is an active part of our work. As I said in reply to Senator Boylan, I believe that communities are critical to this. We are talking about people coming together in a community, including the local GAA club and local shops, with leadership at a local level. It can bring about a remarkable transformation. We are hoping to grow that network of communities to 1,500 by the end of the decade, when we will have most of the country covered. We have a long way to go but communities are critical in getting that momentum.

An Post is one of the front runners in forming the one-stop-shop, linking up with other service providers to deliver a full package for consumers. We are looking to put in place that one-stop-shop model, which will help us to turbocharge the retrofitting scheme. It is great to see but more needs to happen. Credit unions need to be involved in their local areas. We see that as critical.