Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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102. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the individual home energy grant schemes available from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland in each of the years 2016 to 2019; the number of applications for each grant; the number of grants awarded; the average value of grant awarded under each heading; the annual spend on each home energy grant scheme in tabular form;; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18317/20]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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My Department funds a number of grant schemes to support homeowners to improve the energy efficiency of their properties. These are administered by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI). Since 2000, over 400,000 homeowners have upgraded their homes with support from these schemes.  This has resulted in warmer, healthier and more comfortable homes that are easier to heat and light. This year approximately €121 million has been allocated to residential and community energy efficiency schemes and the Solar PV scheme.

The Programme for Government and the Climate Action Plan set ambitious targets for the number and depth of residential retrofits to be completed by 2030. The targets are to retrofit 500,000 homes to a Building Energy Rating of B2/cost optimal equivalent and to install 400,000 heat pumps in existing buildings over the next 10 years.  Achievement of these targets will be supported by the Programme for Government commitment to ring-fencing a significant portion of future carbon tax receipts for a new €5 billion socially progressive retrofit fund.  As part of the July Stimulus, I have taken the decision to increase the SEAI budget by €100 million in 2021. 

The table below presents the grants schemes available, the number of grants availed of under each scheme and spend per scheme from 2016 to 2019.

*Better Energy Communities, Better Energy Finance and Deep Retrofit applications are for projects, where each project includes a number of homes.

**The grant per home is the amount awarded in principle at the start of the project and is comprised of the expected capital costs, project management, BER design and consultancy, BER and airtightness test costs pre and post works and the potential airtightness bonus.  Projects awarded grants in a given year are frequently not completed within that year and the overall amount drawn down can be lower than the grant awarded.  The average grant amount for completed homes across the scheme as of March 2020 was in the order of €32,000 per home. This includes capital costs, project management, BER design and consultancy, BER and airtightness test costs pre and post works and the potential airtightness bonus.

***The total cost reflects the amount paid out in a given year including payments for projects fully completed, and either fully paid or where the final measurement and verification payment is pending, as well as milestone payments for projects to be completed in the following year.

Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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103. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the number of applications for electric vehicle grants made to the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland in each of the years 2016 to 2019; the number of grants awarded; the average value of grant awarded; the annual spend on electric vehicle grants in tabular form;; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18318/20]

Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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104. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the number of applications for electric vehicle home charging point grants made to the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland in each of the years 2016 to 2019; the number of grants awarded; the average value of grant awarded; the total annual spend on electric vehicle home charging point grants in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18319/20]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 103 and 104 together. I propose to answer Question numbers 103 and 104 together.

The Electric Vehicle (EV) Purchase Grant Scheme, administered by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), currently provides up to €5,000 in grant support for the private purchase of a new electric car and up to €3,800 for the commercial purchase of a new electric van. The vehicles in question may be battery electric vehicles (BEVs) or plug in electric hybrid vehicles (PHEVs).

The table below indicates the total number of applications received, number of grants awarded, average value of grant awarded and annual spend in respect of the EV Purchase Grant Scheme for the years 2016-2019:

The table below indicates the number of applications received, number of grants awarded, average value of grant awarded and annual spend in respect of the EV Home Charger Grant Scheme for the years 2018 and 2019: