Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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227. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the number of retrofits that were completed to date in 2022, under each scheme, by county; the average costs and waiting time, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39502/22]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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Earlier this year, Government announced an enhanced package of measures to support the uptake of home energy upgrades and include:

- A new National Home Energy Upgrade Scheme providing increased grant levels of up to 50% of the cost of a typical deep retrofit to a B2 BER standard.

- Establishment of a network of registered One Stop Shops to offer a start-to-finish project management service, including access to financing, for home energy upgrades.

- A significant increase in the number of free energy upgrades provided to those at risk of energy poverty alongside changes to the operation of the Warmer Homes Scheme. This includes ensuring the Scheme prioritises those in the worst performing homes first and opening the Scheme for homeowner ‘revisits’ thereby allowing them apply for deeper energy upgrade measures now available under the scheme.

- A special enhanced grant rate, equivalent to 80% of the typical cost, for attic and cavity wall insulation has also been introduced for all households. This will help to urgently reduce energy use as part of the Government’s response to current exceptionally high energy prices.

A total of €267.2 million was allocated for SEAI residential and community retrofit schemes and the Solar PV scheme in 2022 as part of the Revised Estimates Volume. The capital allocation will be amended on foot of the Supplementary Estimate for my Department.

The investment this year targets almost 27,000 home energy upgrades, including over 8,600 homes to a BER of B2. Figures provided by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland show that to the end of June 8,628 homes have been completed across the residential energy efficiency schemes and of these, 2,681 have been upgraded to a post works Building Energy Rating (BER) of B2 or better.

There are a number of Residential Schemes that offer a range of upgrade measures, therefore the average cost per Scheme will depend on many factors, including age, size, type and condition of the property and they retrofitting works required or recommended.

The number of homes completed by county under the Warmer Homes Scheme to the end of May 2022 is set out in the Table below. Currently, data on home completions per county across all schemes is not routinely reported by the SEAI.

The average cycle time from application to completion under the Warmer Home Scheme is 28 months. However, it is important to note that cycle times have been affected by COVID related issues. In addition, there are deeper measures being provided under the Scheme since 2018, which involve more substantive works. This Scheme is a key priority for me and SEAI are working to increase output to an average of 400 per month supported by a significant increase in funding and resources.

The cycle times for the other residential and community energy upgrade schemes are a factor of the specific guidelines associated with each Scheme. Under the Better Energy Homes and Solar PV Schemes completion times are within the control of the homeowner. However, works must be completed within an 8-month period, starting from the date of grant approval. Under the new National Home Energy Upgrade Scheme and the Community Energy Grant Scheme retrofit projects are managed through contracts agreed between homeowners and their engaged registered One Stop Shop or Project Co-ordinator with all works required to be completed within 12-months of the signing of contracts.