Ossian Smyth (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy very much for raising this issue. As he will know, I care very much about it. I am particularly interested to make sure the retrofitting money is targeted towards those who need it most. I want to give the Deputy an update today on Government action on the better energy warmer homes scheme.

The programme for Government and climate action plan set ambitious targets to retrofit 500,000 homes to a building energy rating of B2 and install 400,000 heat pumps in existing buildings over the next ten years. These targets represent a very significant increase in both the volume and depth of retrofit activity in Ireland. The recently published national retrofit plan sets out how we will achieve these targets and identifies an unprecedented €8 billion to support homeowners to retrofit their homes to 2030. It includes a range of measures aimed at supporting those least able to afford to retrofit. This week, the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, also announced further improvements to the supports available to homeowners to retrofit their homes in line with the commitments in the national retrofit plan.

The better energy warmer homes scheme delivers free energy upgrades to eligible homeowners in low-income households who are vulnerable to energy poverty. It is administered by the SEAI. Since the start of the scheme in 2000, more than 143,000 free upgrades have been supported. In 2021, the average cost of the energy-efficiency measures provided per household was €17,100. A budget allocation of €109 million has been provided for the scheme this year. This will support an increase in the number of free home upgrades from an average of 177 per month in 2021 to 400 per month this year, helping to reduce waiting times.

The Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications has committed to reviewing the qualifying criteria for the scheme, including the rule that only allows for one visit to homeowners. I am delighted to tell the Deputy that several revisions to the scheme were made this week to better target those in need. One of these changes means that for the first time, applications will be accepted from qualifying homeowners who previously received supports under the scheme but could still benefit from even deeper measures. This means applicants will now be able to have a second visit under the scheme.

The scheme will target the worst performing properties by prioritising homes that were built and occupied before 1993 and those with a BER rating of E, F or G. Existing applications will not be affected by this change, however. The scheme eligibility criteria will also be extended to include those in receipt of disability allowance for more than six months and who have a child aged under seven years. The scheme is now open to applicants in receipt of the following welfare payments: fuel allowance; those receiving jobseeker's allowance for more than six months and with a child aged under seven; working family payment; one-parent family payment; domiciliary care allowance; carer's allowance where someone lives with the person he or she is caring for; and those receiving disability allowance for more than six months and with a child aged under seven. The eligibility criteria are kept under ongoing review within the Department of Social Protection to ensure they are consistent with and complementary to the other income support schemes offered by that Department.

There are currently just over 7,000 homes awaiting works under the better energy warmer homes scheme programme. These include homes that are awaiting the initial survey of their home, those that have completed an initial home survey and are awaiting allocation to a contractor, those that have been allocated to a contractor for works and those that are currently undergoing works.

Activity under this scheme and the associated expenditure were significantly impacted in both 2020 and 2021 by the Covid-19 pandemic when construction activity paused for approximately 12 months in total in line with Government guidelines. Activity ramped up again towards the end of the year, however, and there is confidence around the capacity to deliver 400 homes per month under the scheme this year. Works under the scheme have restarted in line with activity in the residential construction sector.

SEAI data indicate that for homes completed to date, in 2021, the average time from application to completion was 26 months, taking into account the increase in waiting times due to the impact of Covid-19. For the same period, the average time for a surveyor to be allocated was approximately 18 months. A research network on fuel poverty, chaired by the Economic and Social Research Institute, has been established to examine the data and metrics needed to improve existing measures for fuel poverty in Ireland. The group consists of representatives from the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, the Department of Social Protection, the SEAI and the Central Statistics Office. The details I have outlined demonstrate the Government's significant commitments to supporting those at risk from energy poverty.

See this speech in context