Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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59. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if he will outline the schemes of grants and eligibility conditions for improving energy efficiency in private homes, including upgrading work such as insulation and installation or replacement of boilers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20698/23]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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60. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if persons who need to carry out energy efficiency works in their private homes can avail of grant aid under existing schemes where some years ago small-scale grant aid was availed of by homeowners to carry out improvement works and further additional improvement works are now needed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20699/23]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 59 and 60 together.

The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) has a number of schemes in place to support homeowners to upgrade their properties including the fully funded Better Energy Warmer Homes Scheme and a number of part-funded schemes such as the Better Energy Homes Scheme and the Community Energy Grant Scheme, as well as the National Home Energy Upgrade Scheme (NHEUS) which was established last year. This allows homeowners to choose the best home upgrade option to suit their particular needs.

Details of the various energy upgrade schemes are available on the SEAI website at: www.seai.ie/grants/home-energy-grants/

Under the SEAI home energy upgrade schemes, the general principle applies whereby grant funding can only be issued once per measure per property.

However, under the National Home Energy Upgrade Scheme, where the One Stop Shop determines through the Home Energy Assessment and Heat Loss Indicator assessment that a second wall insulation is required to meet the heat pump requirement, then grant support for a second measure is permitted as follows:

• Internal Wall Insulation is eligible where cavity has previously been funded.
• External wall insulation is eligible where either cavity or internal wall insulation has been funded.

Following the introduction of the new measures, 27,200 home energy upgrades were supported in 2022, which represents a 79% increase year-on year.

My Department is working with SEAI to build on the strong performance achieved in 2022 and so far this year. A record €356 million in funding has been allocated to SEAI for residential and community retrofit for 2023 to support the delivery of 37,000 retrofits this year. Figures to end of March 2023 show 9,946 home energy upgrades have been delivered so far this year.