Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal, Labour)
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57. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the position regarding the availability of SEAI grants for those in private homes to retrofit and insulate their homes; the take-up of such grants; the current waiting time for a person that may wish to avail of same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11067/21]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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My Department funds a number of SEAI grant schemes to support homeowners to improve the energy efficiency of their properties. Partial grants are available for individuals who can afford to contribute to the cost of upgrades as well as free energy efficiency retrofits for people at risk of energy poverty.  Since 2000, around 450,000 homeowners have upgraded their homes with support from these schemes, representing nearly one home in four across the country.  Last year alone, although COVID-19 restrictions had a negative impact on activity, over 17,500 homes were retrofitted with SEAI support.  €221.5 million in capital funding has been provided this year for SEAI residential and community retrofit schemes. This represents an additional €100 million, or an 82% increase, on the 2020 allocation and is the largest ever budget for the schemes.

Waiting times vary across schemes. Under the Better Energy Warmer Homes scheme, in 2020 the average time from application to completion was approximately 18 months, which reflects the impact of COVID-19 restrictions. SEAI have advised my Department that this average waiting time 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.

Under the Better Energy Homes programme, works must be completed within an 8-month period, starting from the date of grant approval.

Aggregation based supports such as Community Energy Grant and the National Retrofit Scheme approve applications which meet the qualifying criteria on an ongoing basis within the annual budget.  Work on these schemes can commence as soon as grant approvals are given to each project with works to be completed by mid-October of this year.  

Full details on the application processes for all schemes operated by the SEAI are available at www.seai.ie