Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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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 lower income households vulnerable to energy poverty. To date over 143,000 homes have received free upgrades under the scheme leaving them better able to afford to heat their homes to an adequate level. During the first 6 months of 2021, the approximate average value of the energy efficiency measures provided per household was €17,100.

There are currently over 7,000 homeowners on the Warmer Homes Scheme work programme who have never received any upgrade works under the scheme. SEAI data indicates that for homes completed in the first half of 2021, the average time from application to completion was almost 26 months. The SEAI has advised me that wait times vary, based on the demand for the scheme at the time of application as well as other factors including the scale of works to be completed, access to the property, availability of materials and the weather.

Revisits under this scheme are currently not available. This enables the work programme to prioritise eligible homes that have not previously received free upgrades under the scheme. Recommendations on the implementation of changes to the scheme to better target those most in need will be finalised and published shortly.

It is important to note that the grants available through SEAI aim to maximise emission reductions and deliver energy savings for the widest range of homeowners possible. The grants which are available, and their respective eligibility criteria, were selected as the most likely to deliver significant energy savings to homeowners as well as the best value for money for the Exchequer.

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The Programme for Government and the Climate Action Plan set ambitious targets to retrofit 500,000 homes to a Building Energy Rating of B2 or cost optimal and to install 400,000 heat pumps in existing buildings over the next 10 years.

This year, some €221.5 million in capital funding has been provided for SEAI residential and community retrofit programmes, including the Solar PV scheme and the Building Energy Rating programme.  This represents an 82% increase on the 2020 allocation and is the largest amount ever for the schemes. 

A new National Retrofit Plan will be published in Quarter 4 2021. The Plan is designed to address barriers to energy efficiency investments in four key areas: customer proposition and demand generation, financing and affordability, supplier capacity, and governance.

The Plan will seek to incorporate new approaches including the testing of Community based social marketing in communities with the highest retrofit potential. Coordinated activities will be conducted to generate demand and help to convert as much demand as possible into completed retrofit activity.

Building on the One Stop Shop Development Call pilot 2021, the new National Retrofit Scheme (One Stop Shop Service) will launch in Quarter 4 2021. The new Scheme will support home retrofit on a larger, aggregated scale through the development of a network of one-stop-shops which will offer homeowners, all the services required for a complete home energy upgrade to a BER B2 level.

The new Scheme, similar to the One Stop Shop Development Call pilot 2021, will deliver aggregated projects including area-based approaches where appropriate. This year the One Stop Shop Development Call has supported 13 projects, involving the upgrade of 575 housing units - primarily approved housing body dwellings - in specific estates or a targeted area.

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 to retrofit 500,000 homes to a Building Energy Rating of B2 or cost optimal and to install 400,000 heat pumps in existing buildings over the next 10 years. A 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: customer proposition and demand generation, financing and affordability, supplier capacity, and governance.

SEAI grant schemes will be a central element of the Government's approach to achieving our retrofit targets.  It is intended to launch a new National Retrofit Scheme focused on achieving B2 retrofits later this year.  The existing SEAI grant schemes will be aligned with the National Retrofit Scheme as appropriate.  

Some €221.5 million in capital funding has been provided this year for SEAI residential and community retrofit programmes, including the Solar PV scheme and the Building Energy Rating programme.  This represents an 82% increase on the 2020 allocation and is the largest amount ever for the schemes. 

Of the overall capital allocation for 2021, €48.9 million has been spent as of 16 September. It is important to note that extensive COVID-19 related restrictions on construction activity between January and mid-April had a significant impact on activity this year.  Output has also been negatively impacted by challenges associated with availability and longer lead times for materials.   Every effort is being made to maximise output now that construction activity in the residential sector has recommenced.

The schemes which will be available during 2022 and the overall allocations will be finalised as part of the annual Estimates process.