Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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90. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment when the one-stop shops for home energy upgrades will be available; if the locations of same have been decided; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10450/22]

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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The retrofitting scheme was both welcome and ambitious but the public are anxious to know when the one-stop shops for the home energy upgrades will be available and if their locations have been decided. I am hopeful there will be an even spread across the country. It is so important that information is available in our area of Carlow-Kilkenny.

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The recently launched national home energy upgrade scheme introduces a new, highly customer-centric way to undertake home upgrades. The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI, registered one-stop shops will provide an end-to-end service for homeowners. This includes surveying, designing the upgrades, managing the grant process, helping with access to finance, engaging contractors and quality assurance. The scheme offers unprecedented grant levels, increased from approximately 30% to 50% of the cost of a typical B2 home energy upgrade with a heat pump.

It is expected that the one-stop shops will be distributed across Ireland with a considerable number offering services nationwide through their network of contractors throughout the country. Other one-stop shops will likely work within geographic regions. This will ensure that every home can benefit from the one-stop shop service on offer.

Following Government approval, the SEAI registration portal for companies to apply to be a one-stop shop has opened. A number of one-stop shops have already applied and it is expected that following the necessary process, the first will be registered in the coming weeks. Homeowners will then be able to make applications for upgrades under the new scheme.

To summarise, a number of one-stop shops have already been approved. We will not announce them until the registration process is properly concluded but they will be in place in the next few weeks.

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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That is very welcome. A network of one-stop shops that will handle all the work involved in carrying out a significant energy upgrade is really good for homes. I know that people have to apply for this. Will there be a recruitment campaign for apprenticeships? How long will that take? That is the biggest issue. We know there is a lack of apprenticeships here.

The turnaround time will obviously depend on the response time of these organisations as they scale up to deliver the task ahead. Are they ready to hit the ground running or are homeowners going be waiting years to get someone to look at the job? Again, communication is key here to give people in every area an idea of what is happening, the timescale, the details of the grant and how much it costs.

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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To give details on the skills issue, in last year's budget, the Government provided €22 million for the green skills action programme with a particular focus on near-zero energy building and retrofitting, with a significant increase in course places. The Minister, Deputy Harris, actually came up to me after we launched the national retrofit scheme to say that not only did we have a massive response from householders who were interested but that the telephone was ringing off the hook in those centres. Some 5,000 apprenticeship places are there now.

The very attractive thing about it is that it does not have to be a prolonged process. Much of the skills training in this can be done in a relatively short period. People with existing skills can upgrade or new people going into the industry can benefit. We are seeing a real uptick in interest. The change in the CAO process that the Minister, Deputy Harris, also announced in November, which puts those apprenticeship options before young people, will also be transformative. I am confident that in the next three years we will get the 17,000 places the Minister set as a target and we will have the workers to deliver the retrofits we need.

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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That is very welcome. My other concern is that as we know, people get very confused by the different types of grants on offer. I am concerned about the communication. The scheme, for example, is offering a payment of 80% of the cost of doing simple works such as attic or cavity wall insulation. These latter grants mean these jobs will only cost approximately €300 each but together could knock approximately 20% off the annual heating bill. Again, people have been ringing me about that. Many people will probably still opt to go directly to a contractor for smaller jobs even though the one-stop shop will offer the expertise and skills needed for deeper retrofits.

Can the Minister tell me more about the options for smaller jobs that perhaps homeowners would like to take on themselves without a contractor? Can they do that? Can we ensure there will be no price hikes? We have seen with contractors how things have gone with premiums and prices. We cannot afford to have prices go higher. That again is a huge issue about which people have contacted me. I welcome this. It really is so important with energy costs and fuel bills. At this stage, however, we need to make sure the information is correct.

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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To be clear, that 80% grant was done very specifically in response to the immediate price crisis in terms of high fossil fuel prices due to those international factors. It was, therefore, done very deliberately and involved targeted measures that could be done quickly and relatively cheaply such as attic and wall insulation.

I do not think householders will be or should be doing those jobs on their own. There are issues around going into the attic to put in insulation and making sure there is still ventilation so as not to cause other issues. Injecting insulation is how it would work in a cavity wall. No householder would have the equipment. That would be a better job for a skilled contractor.

I recommend the SEAI website as a way of going through the complexity of this issue. The one-stop shops will help tremendously because the whole idea is that a person can go to someone who will give advice on the overall picture as to what can and should be done.