Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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405. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will provide the list of all schools that have been retrofitted under the school's energy retrofit pathfinder programme; the approximate number of students in each school; the total retrofitting cost for each of these schools; the BER rating of each school before and after works were completed in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [57865/22]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I am delighted to advise that the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications Eamon Ryan TD and I recently launched the 2023 – 2024 Schools Energy Retrofit Pathfinder Programme which will evaluate and demonstrate the approach to energy retrofit and carbon reduction in the schools’ sector, testing energy efficiency solutions and renewable heat technologies.

The 2023/24 Pathfinder is jointly funded with a targeted budget of €35 million from the Department of Education and Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications and administered by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) and the Planning and Building Unit in the Department of Education with delivery support from Limerick Clare ETB.

This government-funded energy retrofit pathfinder programme will target energy use and CO2 emission reduction by 51%, testing deep retrofit and low carbon heating solutions. The programme will see up to ten schools benefitting from a selection of energy efficiency works.

This programme continues to assist the Department to explore options and test various solutions for decarbonised energy efficiency solutions in our broad range of school building types. It is paving the way for, and informing, a much larger schools national programme for the energy retrofit of schools built prior to 2008 as included in the National Development Plan and will play a key part of meeting delivery of the Climate Action Plan.

Design teams are being appointed to each school to feasibility stage to investigate retrofit and decarbonisation options, and works will roll out from summer 2023 subject to the outcome of the feasibility stage. The feasibility stage includes looking at various options for potential retrofit levels with renewable heat up to what would be required to be a Zero Emission Building.

The schools for 2023 present a variety of challenges, including building age, archetype and retrofit requirements. The works typically involves upgrades to the building fabric including wall and roof insulation, doors and windows, air tightness improvements, LED lighting and heating upgrades as well as renewable technologies.

The pathfinder programme has retrofitted 42 schools across Ireland to date with work on an additional 15 schools currently at various stages of progress.

The pathfinder development approach from 2017 to 2020 was via measurement of improvements through the SEAI Monitoring & Reporting Database against historical outputs (bills etc.)

In 2020 the pathfinder approach adjusted to measures to improve the BER to a minimum of B and decarbonisation in recognition of the transition to decarbonisation in the 2020 Programme for Government when the focus nationally moved from energy demand reduction to energy related greenhouse gas emission reduction for the public sector bodies.

I attach the information as requested by the Deputy in tabular form.

Projects from 2020 onwards required understanding of transition to full decarbonisation following on from 2020 programme for Government. Pathfinder programme then changed focus to be BER lead.

2020 Onwards