John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

120. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to finance deep energy retrofit of schools over the coming years to meet climate change rules. [21663/18]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Over the lifetime of the NDP, Government and EU energy efficiency and climate change legislation will require upgrading of the energy performance of existing schools. My Department, with SEAI, completed an energy pilot project in 2017 for the energy upgrade of ten existing schools to establish opportunities and innovative delivery models, as well as a menu of best practice retrofit options. My Department has agreed to collaborate with SEAI on the delivery of a further National Energy Efficiency Upgrade Pilot Programme for Schools in 2018 and 2019 on a matching funding basis. This builds on the successful pilot programme completed last year.

The shared objectives of the next phase of the pilot programme are to implement a range of energy efficiency measures in a number of typical schools and to test a variety of approaches with a view to developing a scalable model of energy efficiency retrofits in the school sector to be rolled out into the future. In this regard, it is envisaged that deep energy retrofits will need to be factored into future school refurbishment programmes during the lifetime of the NDP.