Seanad debates
Monday, 22 January 2024
Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters
Energy Conservation
12:00 pm
Martin Conway (Fine Gael)
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The third Commencement matter is from Senator Sherlock. Before I call the Senator, I welcome students from Gorey Community School to the Seanad. Their tour is on a Monday and it is most unusual that we are sitting on a Monday, so at least they are getting to see the Seanad sitting during their visit. My colleague, Senator Malcolm Byrne, is a past pupil of Gorey Community School, so I am sure he would be delighted to hear these students are in the House.
Marie Sherlock (Labour)
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I welcome the students of Gorey Community School as well, and I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House.
My question relates to apartments and the apparent lack of State support for the retrofitting of these homes. The Government has a plan to retrofit half a million houses by the end of this decade. We also have a national retrofit plan, which was published two years ago. However, when I looked through the detail of the national retrofit plan, I did not see a single sentence in the whole document that deals with retrofitting apartments. The fact that apartments have been forgotten about is astonishing because the census data shows there are almost 35,000 apartments and flats in this country that were built before 1990, which is more than 30 years ago. In an area close to where I am based in Smithfield, almost 40% of people live in apartments, yet there is no recognition of these communities and complexes within the national retrofitting plan.That exclusion also is apparent when we look at the State supports provided by the SEAI. Obviously the SEAI funds individual homeowners and community projects. It seems that there are extraordinary challenges in funding owner management companies, OMCs, that manage apartment complexes. I have been told by a director of an OMC who wants to retrofit an entire apartment complex that 12 one-stop shop companies were contacted, but just one of them would provide a quote. This reflects the serious challenges one encounters when one wants to retrofit an apartment complex. The reason all of this is so important is that the many apartment dwellers who want to retrofit need to do so. This is about reducing bills, keeping more heat in and, crucially, reducing energy poverty. We know from ESRI research that has been published over recent years that those who live in apartments and flats tend to be, on average, on a lower income, their accommodation tends more to be rented than owner-occupied, and they are more likely to experience energy deprivation when compared with those who live in houses. There is a double-whammy whereby people who live in apartments and flats are more likely to be on a lower income, and more likely to rent. They find themselves locked in a situation where they cannot do anything to reduce their bills and cannot afford to move out due to the rental crisis in this country. If we are serious about tackling energy poverty, and the serious number of people who are in energy poverty, we must dramatically improve the lives of lower income people and take a very serious look at retrofitting apartment blocks.
I am very conscious of the serious technical challenges in retrofitting apartments, and I do not think anybody would deny that these challenges exist. There are issues with the type of work that is to be done, the scheduling of that work, the question of who is responsible for undertaking the work and the distribution of the benefit of the changes. In particular, I am thinking of where solar panels could be applied and who would benefit from those energy savings. I know that some apartment complexes that applied for energy master plans have not been fully funded by the SEAI because their OMCs are not tax registered. Again, that seems to be another blockage or obstacle to those living in apartment complexes trying to find a way to retrofit their developments.
In 2023, research on the retrofitting of apartment complexes was instigated and a report is due in the third quarter of 2024. I think that is a very slow turnaround time. It is very late in the day if we are serious about trying to retrofit dwellings and ensure we reduce energy poverty. The Government must make greater progress on a retrofitting plan for apartment blocks.
Pippa Hackett (Green Party)
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I thank the Senator. I am here to answer on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications.
The climate action plan, as outlined by the Senator, and the national retrofit plan set ambitious targets to retrofit the equivalent of 500,000 homes to a building energy rating of B2 or cost optimal and the installation of 400,000 heat pumps in existing homes to replace older, less efficient heating systems by the end of 2030. To promote and incentivise the achievement of these targets, the Government has put in place a package of supports to make it easier and more affordable for homeowners to undertake home energy upgrades for warmer, healthier and more comfortable homes with lower energy bills.
Last year, demand across the SEAI schemes was exceptionally high. Indicative figures from the SEAI show that nearly 48,000 home energy upgrades were supported last year. This represents a 76% increase in outputs year on year. Of this amount, 17,599 homes achieved a B2 building energy rating. This represents a 107% increase in B2 upgrades that were supported in 2022. Under the better energy warmer home scheme, 5,897 free upgrades for energy poor homes were delivered. This represents a 33% increase in free upgrades provided versus 2022. Overall, over 67,000 applications for grant supports were received by the SEAI, which equated to a 34% increase on 2022 levels. This indicates a strong pipeline of works for this year.A record capital budget of €437.2 million for SEAI residential and community energy upgrade schemes, including the solar PV scheme, has been allocated for 2024. This allocation will mean that the progress made last year under the national retrofit plan will be further ramped up this year.
On the Senator's specific query, houses and apartments owned by homeowners, non-corporate landlords and approved housing bodies are eligible for grant support under the various residential and community energy upgrade schemes in line with the relevant scheme guidelines. The national home energy upgrade scheme is designed to support homeowners who want to undertake a comprehensive home energy upgrade through registered one-stop shops. While apartments in aggregated projects can be supported, this scheme is currently more focused on upgrading individual apartments and houses. However, entire apartment buildings can be supported under the SEAI community energy grant scheme. In recent years, the SEAI has supported a number of such projects, including in respect of energy-poor and non-energy-poor households in apartment buildings.
The Department and the SEAI recognise that apartment buildings have additional and complex issues that need to be addressed when considering whole-building retrofit upgrades. These include technical issues like heat pump systems, design solutions and mixed-ownership issues, which can often be very challenging. For that reason, the Department is working with the SEAI to identify and address any of the barriers that currently exist. In parallel, officials from the Department and their counterparts from the SEAI and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage are collaborating with the Housing Agency on an EU-supported research project on this matter. The key objective of the project is to establish models and frameworks to advance methods of whole-of-building retrofits of apartment buildings in Ireland. The project is expected to be completed by the end of this year.
It is important to note that the SEAI is happy to engage with apartment block owner management companies in respect of proposals for energy efficiency upgrade projects. I encourage any such companies to make contact with the SEAI.
Marie Sherlock (Labour)
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I thank the Minister of State. My question specifically related to apartments. In 2020, 11.7% of all apartment dwellers reported being in energy arrears. In 2013, the figure was as high as 20%. The issue of energy poverty among apartment dwellers is not new, yet my sense is that the Department has been hugely behind the curve on this matter. The Minister of State spoke about the SEAI supporting a number of apartment blocks. To be honest, I know of none in Dublin. Perhaps they exist but they are few and far between. We need to see a comprehensive plan for all apartment blocks in order that they can be upgraded in one step as opposed to just the windows or doors of individual apartments being done, which has limited benefit when compared with the overhaul of the energy efficiency of an entire building.
The Department is moving at far too slow a pace in addressing this issue. We have the old data regarding energy arrears and energy deprivation among apartment dwellers. In the context of the cost-of-living crisis, the figure in this regard is quite high. There needs to be urgency on the part of the Department.
Pippa Hackett (Green Party)
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I thank the Senator. I listened with interest to both her concerns and the points she raised. There are challenges when it comes to apartment blocks and how the Department deals with them. It is eager to iron out some of these difficulties and to understand how best it can move matters forward. The project being supported at the EU level will in some ways help to iron out a number of those issues. It is essential that we bring everyone on the journey when it comes to retrofits, energy-use reduction and cheaper, warmer and healthier living. As a society, we cannot afford to leave people behind. The Government has rolled out supports in the context of energy poverty. This is a matter on which we keep a close eye at all times.
Martin Conway (Fine Gael)
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I thank Senator Sherlock and the Minister of State. We have a special Order of Business coming up at 1 p.m. We will suspend proceedings until then.