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

I thank Deputy O'Rourke for raising this important issue which provides an opportunity to have a debate on heat pumps. The National Heat Study considered potential decarbonisation options for a wide range of dwelling and business types. It found that heat pumps are the optimal decarbonisation pathway for domestic heating systems.

Heat pumps are now the dominant heating technology for new builds with CSO data showing that heat pumps were installed in 95% of new dwellings during the first three quarters of last year. Heat pumps are also installed as part of retrofit projects, mainly with the support of SEAI grants or through the local authority retrofit programme.

The Department and the SEAI are working to ensure that the package of supports for heat pumps under the SEAI schemes align with best practice, including engaging with international experts on this issue. The SEAI also operates two heat pump pilots, which aim to inform appropriate processes and approaches to increase the number of heat pumps installations, while ensuring quality.

It is acknowledged that heat pumps that are incorrectly sized, poorly installed, not operated correctly or installed in unsuitable buildings can be less economically effective than traditional heating systems. In order to help mitigate this risk, the SEAI sets out clear requirements for its retrofit schemes to ensure the correct heat pumps are installed in suitable homes. These mitigations include: that the SEAI mandates the qualification of the individuals designing and installing systems; sets minimum standards for the fabric of the home with technical assessments required in homes built before 2007; it mandates the registration and approval of heat pump manufacturers and equipment; and it also mandates the installer to document the handover of the system to the homeowner.

The SEAI also carries out a significant number of inspections of retrofits utilising a targeted, risk-based approach to selecting homes for inspection while ensuring a level of coverage across the contractor base. More broadly, considerable work has been undertaken by the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science in recent years to grow the capacity of the construction sector and the number of workers with the skills required for nearly zero-energy building, NZEB, and retrofit.

Six NZEB centres of excellence are now in operation offering NZEB and retrofit upskilling and reskilling programmes. As a result, availability and uptake of these courses have increased significantly. The Department of further and higher education indicates that 4,442 people availed of upskilling and reskilling courses across these centres of excellence last year compared with 2,069 in 2022.

Heat pump systems are at their most efficient and effective when generating heat at a lower temperature. In such situations, they are extremely efficient and very economical to run with no requirement for additional heating sources, meaning there are no additional bills for oil, gas or solid fuel.

While electricity prices remain above their pre-pandemic levels, consumers have experienced reductions in electricity prices recently. While this reduction is welcome, I am aware that some homeowners, both with and without heat pumps, have faced challenges with their bills.

It is important to note that, throughout the period of high energy prices, the Government has continued to support energy consumers to stay warm and well. This includes a €2.2 billion suite of cost-of-living supports to assist families, pensioners, carers and people with disabilities as part of budget 2024. The Department is currently developing a revised energy poverty action plan which will be published in the coming months.

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