Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

50. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the status of the take-up of retrofitting grants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44145/21]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

My Department funds a number of SEAI grant schemes to support homeowners to improve the energy efficiency of their properties. Since 2000, over 450,000 homeowners have upgraded their homes with support from these schemes, representing nearly one home in four across the country. This has resulted in warmer, healthier and more comfortable homes that are easier to heat and light. Some €221.5 million in capital funding has been provided this year for SEAI residential and community retrofit programmes. This represents an 82% increase on the 2020 allocation and is the largest amount ever for the schemes. This allocation has facilitated the expansion and improvement of existing SEAI grant schemes and the introduction of new initiatives.

To date in 2021, over 6,500 homes have been retrofitted with support from SEAI schemes.  It is important to note that the number of retrofits was negatively impacted by the extensive COVID-19 related restrictions on construction activity between January and mid-April.  In addition, the number of retrofits supported has also been negatively impacted by challenges associated with availability and longer lead times for materials.  It is anticipated that SEAI initiatives aimed at driving demand for retrofits will encourage further uptake of retrofit grants for the remainder of the year and into 2022. 

Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

51. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment his plans to meet retrofitting targets; if he will set out year-on-year targets by retrofitting programme; if he has examined other funding mechanisms for retrofitting houses given the number of homes that need to be retrofitted and the high up-front cost to households; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44099/21]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

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 and to install 400,000 heat pumps in existing buildings by 2030.  This year, €221.5 million in capital funding has been provided for SEAI residential and community retrofit schemes. This represents an 82% increase on the 2020 allocation and is the largest amount ever for the schemes. SEAI offers grants of up to 35% of the cost of home energy upgrades to homeowners as well as free home energy upgrades to people at risk of energy poverty. Output targets for grant schemes are set as part of the annual planning process. 

The new National Retrofit Plan will be published in quarter 4 of this year. The plan is designed to address barriers to energy efficiency investments in four key areas: demand generation, financing and affordability, supply chain capacity, and governance. The plan will set out a range of measures to support the achievement of our residential retrofit targets. We will continue to track and monitor progress against the targets, evaluate the impact of measures introduced and make adjustments to the plan as necessary.

My Department is also engaging with Department of Finance and the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland in relation to the development of a residential retrofit loan guarantee scheme. The loan guarantee, which is co-funded by the EU, will enable credit institutions to offer loans with reduced interest rates and make comprehensive home energy efficiency upgrades more affordable to consumers. As a result, households will be able to enjoy more comfortable and healthier homes with a lower carbon footprint. The recently published Housing for All plan also commits the development of a proposal in relation to a new Local Authority Energy Efficiency Retrofit Loan for homeowners, supported by the Housing Finance Agency.