Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI, manages a number of residential and community energy upgrade grant support schemes on behalf of my Department. Grant support of up to €6,500 is available to install heat pumps under the better energy homes scheme, and up to €10,500 under the national home energy upgrade scheme or the community energy grant scheme. The SEAI has advised that, to the end of September 2024, grant support was provided for 2,584 heat pump installations.

The SEAI only records the specific heat pump technology installed under the better energy homes programme. Of the heat pump installations supported under better energy homes to date this year, €286,000 in grant support was provided to homeowners in respect of 40 ground-source-to-water heat pump systems and four water-to-water systems. An installation grant of up to 40% for investment in renewable heating systems using ground source heat pumps is also available through the SEAI’s support scheme for renewable heat, which provides financial support to help businesses move to renewable heating.

While the SEAI does not provide dedicated funding for geothermal heating schemes, it does fund related research, including an assessment of the viability of retrofitting an existing communal heating system at Carlinn Hall, Dundalk, County Louth with a shallow geothermal heat pump system. The report on the research, which was published in November 2023, contains recommendations in relation to heat network efficiency and options for low-carbon heat alternatives, including costs of installation and operation. The scheme in question is privately owned and managed, and the implementation of any of the recommendations is a matter for the relevant parties to decide upon.

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