James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I again thank the Deputy for raising this very important matter. I have listened with real interest to his points.

Until 2018 the scheme predominantly focused on delivering shallow measures such as attic or cavity wall insulation. In many cases where the walls were not cavity walls, only the attic was insulated. With the expansion of the scheme in 2018, internal and external wall insulation was introduced, which meant that solid wall properties could now receive insulation under the scheme. With the scheme expansion, many homeowners who only received attic insulation previously but who, under current scheme rules, qualify for wall insulation began contesting the one home, one visit rule. The Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications committed to reviewing the qualifying criteria for the scheme and the Government recently announced several revisions to that scheme. In this regard, applications may be accepted from qualifying homeowners who previously received supports under the scheme and who could still benefit from deeper upgrade measures. This means homeowners will not be precluded from applying a second time for qualifying works not previously carried out on their properties.

Changes to the eligibility criteria for the scheme to better target those in need have now been made. These include accepting applications from homeowners who have received works under the scheme but who could still benefit from the deeper measures now available, the extension of the eligibility criteria for the scheme to encompass people in receipt of the disability allowance for more than six months and who have a child under seven years, and a scheme targeted at the worst performing properties by prioritising those homes that were built and occupied before January 1993 and have a pre-works BER of E, F or G on the waiting list. Existing applications irrespective of BER will not be effected.

Funding for the SEAI's free energy property retrofit schemes has increased dramatically in recent years, from €15 million in 2015 to a budget 2022 allocation of €118 million. It shows the Government's commitment to that issue. Under the better energy warmer homes scheme, the SEAI will provide 4,800 home energy upgrades to households this year.

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