Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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88. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the number of SEAI warmer homes grants approved, by county, in 2020 and to date in 2021; the waiting time for a surveyor to be allocated; the subsequent waiting time for work to commence; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6877/21]

Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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90. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the number of SEAI warmer homes grants that were approved in 2020 and to date in 2021, by county; the current waiting time for a surveyor to be allocated; the subsequent waiting time for work to begin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6921/21]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 88 and 90 together.

The Better Energy Warmer Homes Scheme is funded by my Department and administered by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI). The scheme delivers a range of energy efficiency measures free of charge to low income households vulnerable to energy poverty.

To date, over 142,000 homes have received free upgrades under the scheme, leaving the occupants better able to afford to heat their homes to an adequate level. There are currently over 7,800 homes awaiting works on the Warmer Homes Scheme work programme. This includes homes that are: currently undergoing works; have been allocated to contractors for works; have completed an initial home survey and are awaiting allocation to a contractor or are awaiting the initial survey of their home.

SEAI data indicates that for homes completed in 2020, the average time from application to completion was approximately 18 months.  For the same time period, the average time for a surveyor to be allocated was approximately 8 months and the average time from survey allocated to works completed was 10 months.

SEAI have advised my Department that the average waiting times quoted above should only ever be used as a general guide and waiting times may vary, based on the demand for the scheme at the time of application.  For instance, once the survey is completed and works are allocated to a contractor the time to complete works is dependent on a number of factors including the scale of works to be completed, access to the property, availability of materials, weather and more recently COVID-19 public health restrictions.

The following table shows the number of eligible applications made in 2020 and to date in 2021 by county.