Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)

The Government is committed to continue delivery of the SEAI's residential and community energy upgrade scheme, which is central to achieving our national retrofit plan targets. This includes delivering more B2 home energy upgrades, revising and improving grants and financial models for homeowners, supporting group retrofits and area-based approach in enhancing energy efficiency to reduce the cost for households. In budget 2025 a record €550 million was allocated across the SEAI's home energy upgrade schemes, which was an increase on 2024 when €421 million supported 53,984 home upgrades. This includes both part-funded schemes and fully-funded upgrades at households at risk of energy poverty.

For homeowners seeking a whole home upgrade to achieve a BER of B2 or better, the national home energy upgrade scheme is the primary route. This scheme is delivered through the SEAI's registered one-stop-shop model which manages the entire process for the homeowner. In 2025, €51 million was allocated, up from €45 million in 2024. Delivery is strong. Some 1,474 upgrades were completed in 2024 and 1,062 homes had been retrofitted at the end of August 2025. That is a 21% increase on the same period last year.

At the start of the national homes energy upgrade scheme journey, homeowners undertook a home energy assessment which provides a detailed roadmap of the works and costs required for each to receive a rating of B2 or better. This empowers homeowners to make an informed decision on whether to proceed with a full upgrade or to choose individual measures under the SEAI schemes.

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