Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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50. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the number of heat pumps installed to date relative to the 2030 target of 400,000; the challenges he has identified with heat pump installation; his plans to address these; if alternative technologies are being considered; if he is aware of the high number of calls made to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, SVP, regarding to high electricity bills associated with heat pump use; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21896/24]

Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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This question relates to the number of heat pumps installed to date relative to the 2030 target of 400,000. Will the Minister of State outline the challenges he has identified with heat pump installation and his plans to address these, if alternative technologies are being considered and if he is aware of the high number of calls made to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and others regarding high electricity bills associated with heat pump use.

Ossian Smyth (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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I thank the Deputy for the question. The national retrofit plan set targets to carry out 185,000 energy upgrades and install 45,000 heat pumps in existing homes by 2025 and the equivalent of 500,000 B2 upgrades and 400,000 heat pumps by 2030. Between 2019 and the first quarter of 2024, almost 150,000 energy upgrades were supported by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI. Expenditure increased from €104 million in 2019 to a record €324.5 million last year and the budget is €430 million this year. Demand across the SEAI schemes is growing and so is spend and output.

Heat pumps are one of the most challenging technologies to implement at scale in the existing residential sector, though new builds are predominantly using them. Research indicates that upfront costs and ancillary works can be seen as obstacles. We are addressing these issues under the national retrofit plan and heat pump delivery is growing, with 16,600 installed in existing homes with support from SEAI schemes or under the local authority scheme, including a fourfold increase between 2019 and 2023.

Heat pumps 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 pre-pandemic levels, consumers have experienced reductions in electricity prices in recent times. This reduction is welcome but 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, 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.

My Department is currently developing a revised energy poverty action plan and I would encourage all stakeholders to make a submission to the consultation process.

Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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The first part of my question was straightforward but I do not think the Minister of State answered it in his response. To reiterate, there is a 2030 target of 400,000 heat pumps. To date, how many of those pumps have been installed? By my estimation, on the figures I have received, it is in the region of 10,000, or 2.5% of the total. The Government is behind its own targets by 30%, which is a significant amount. By all accounts, from listening to people and engaging with those who are having retrofits done or who are eager to have retrofits done, there are real challenges regarding the installation of heat pumps. What is the Government going to do to address that? Will the Minister of State acknowledge those figures? Will he update us on the heat loss indicator study to see if there are additional properties that may be suitable for heat pumps?

Ossian Smyth (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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So far, 16,600 heat pumps have been installed in existing homes. The target for 2025, which is the next target date, is 45,000, so we have to get from 16,600 to 45,000 in two years to meet the 2025 target. The next target after that, which is much more demanding, is 400,000 heat pumps by 2030. The structure of these targets is set so the vast majority are in the second half of the decade compared with the first half. That is the answer on heat pump installation.

Approximately 90% of new homes that are built are being fitted with heat pumps. As about 30,000 homes a year are being built, this means approximately 27,000 pumps are being installed every year in new homes. It is a new and complex technology, but this is helping with the skilling that is required to both install them and maintain them for the future.

Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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On the second part of the question, what engagement has the Minister of State or the SEAI had in regard to the practicalities of operating heat pumps when they are installed in existing properties? I am thinking in particular of the energy poverty strategy as it relates to social housing. I have heard on a number of occasions of heat pumps being incorrectly installed or operated. For example, one constituent who has a recently installed heat pump is reporting electricity bills in the region of €1,000 - to be precise, €745, €1,135 and €1,018 - compared with her neighbours, who are reporting electricity bills of €150 or €200. I raised this with Meath County Council. Obviously, it would be a dreadful story for heat pumps if they are heaping additional costs onto people. Whether it is an educational piece or an installation piece, it needs to be addressed. The Society of St. Vincent de Paul is reporting increased calls.

Ossian Smyth (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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In order to install a heat pump, people need to ensure their home is suitable for heat pump installation, certainly in terms of whether it is insulated sufficiently to be ready to have the heat pump installed. Installation of a heat pump is a skilled activity and requires an understanding of connecting the heat pump with the plumbing system, for example, so it does take certain skills. The SEAI approves and certifies suppliers for doing this and it provides advice to homeowners on what type of insulation they need to install a heat pump. Presumably, there are heat pumps that have been incorrectly installed.

I do not think the usefulness of heat pumps is in question. However, I am sure it would be worth having a study to see what the actual performance of heat pumps is in the real world and how they are functioning in the retrofit system in Ireland. I know the SEAI regularly carries out studies to see what the actual performance is of the buildings they have subsidised for upgrades. I accept the Deputy’s suggestions in this regard.