Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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1505. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the waiting time under the warmer homes scheme from the date of application to the approval of the application by the SEAI; the number of applications received under the scheme in each year since 2014; the number approved and the amount drawn down, respectively; the number of applications on hand in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35536/19]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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The Better Energy Warmer Homes Scheme provides energy efficiency upgrades to the homes of people living in or at risk of energy poverty. These upgrades are provided free of charge to the homeowner. The Scheme is administered by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) on behalf of my Department. The initial Warmer Homes Scheme budget allocation for 2019 was €24m. However, following a mid-year capital review conducted by my Department and SEAI, the budget has been increased to €39.8m for 2019.

Approvals under the scheme can be granted within a number of days of the SEAI receiving a completed, valid application. The home is then scheduled for a technical survey and subsequently allocated to a contractor to carry out the works. The most recent data available indicates that the average waiting times from date of application to date of works completion is 8 months for shallow measures and 11 months for deeper measures.

The following table sets out the number of eligible applications received under the Scheme, the cancellations, works undertaken including costs, and associated waiting lists for 2014 – 2019 (to date).

* ‘No works possible’ means that the measures provided under the scheme are not suitable for the home.