Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for his question. The warmer homes scheme aims to improve the energy efficiency and warmth of homes owned by people in energy poverty by providing fully-funded retrofits. The scheme is operated by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI, on behalf of my Department and is funded through the carbon tax receipts and the European Regional Development Fund.

Last year saw a record spend of almost €230 million under the scheme. This resulted in 7,743 upgrades being provided to low-income households, a 31% increase on 2023. This year’s budget has seen a further increase to a record allocation of €280 million. This represents a tenfold increase on the 2020 expenditure figure. The scheme has been delivering a greater number of more complex upgrades in recent years. This is reflected in the average cost of upgrades, which has increased from €2,600 in 2015 to an average of €27,700 in 2024. While these deeper retrofits take longer to complete, significant reductions in the average waiting time still have to be achieved. That is still an issue and I am glad the Deputy has raised it today. While the average wait time has reduced from 26 months in 2022 to 18 months for homes with BER ratings of E, F or G in 2024, we need to do better than that and I will be engaging with the SEAI on this.

Specifically on Deputy Cleere's constituency of Carlow-Kilkenny, last year 123 homes in County Carlow and 99 homes in County Kilkenny were upgraded under the scheme. The SEAI data shows that there are 242 homes awaiting upgrades under the scheme in County Carlow and 290 in County Kilkenny.

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