Patricia Ryan (Kildare South, Sinn Fein)
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175. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the progress being made in achieving the target to deep retrofit 500,000 houses by 2030; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3959/23]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The Programme for Government and Climate Action Plan set ambitious targets to retrofit the equivalent of 500,000 homes to a Building Energy Rating (BER) of B2/cost optimal level and the installation of 400,000 heat pumps in existing homes by end-2030. This represents approximately 30% of the housing stock and is among the most ambitious retrofit programmes worldwide. The budget of €8 billion to the end of the decade and annual allocations set out in the National Development Plan and National Retrofit Plan, underlines the Government’s commitment to achieving these targets.

The National Retrofit Plan estimates that, between 2019 and 2025, almost 185,000 home energy upgrades will be delivered with over 83,000 to a B2/cost optimal level. When the emissions savings from the non-B2 upgrades are included, this is the equivalent of 120,000 B2 upgrades over the period. As a result, there will be a need to deliver on average, approximately 75,000 B2-equivalent home upgrades per year from 2026 to 2030 to achieve the overall target of 500,000 by 2030.

A particularly important aspect of the Retrofit Plan was the launch, last February, of a new package of enhanced SEAI retrofit supports. The key measures included:

- 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;

- A new network of registered One Stop Shops to offer a hassle-free, start-to-finish project management service, including access to financing, for home energy upgrades;

- Higher grants for those taking a step-by-step approach to retrofit with a special enhanced grant rate, equivalent to 80% of the typical cost, for attic and cavity wall insulation. These grants are available to all households, to urgently reduce energy use as part of the Government’s response to current, exceptionally high energy prices.

- Expanded delivery under the SEAI free energy upgrade schemes for those at risk of energy poverty as well as a new approach to prioritising the worst performing homes under the Warmer Homes Scheme.

Demand across the SEAI residential and community energy upgrade schemes (including Solar PV) was exceptionally following the introduction of these measures. Preliminary figures from SEAI indicate that, as of end-December:

- Almost 49,700 applications for support were submitted to SEAI in 2022, representing a 150% increase on 2021 figures.

- Over 27,700 home energy upgrades were supported in 2022, exceeding the target of 26,940. This represents a 79% increase in outputs year on year.

- Of these, over 9,000 upgrades were to a post works Building Energy Rating (BER) of B2 or better, which is double the B2 upgrades supported in 2021.

My Department is working with SEAI to build on this strong performance across the schemes with a robust pipeline of activity carried forward from 2022 into 2023. A target of 37,000 retrofits has been set for 2023, and a record €348 million Exchequer allocation for residential and community retrofit was announced as part of Budget 2023 to support the achievement of this target.