Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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105. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the number of homes in the State that could have the potential to connect to district heating at the present time or in the short to medium-term. [20966/23]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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Government recognises the contribution that district heating can make to Ireland’s energy and climate goals. The Climate Action Plan (CAP) 2023 contains actions to facilitate the delivery of up to 2.7TWh of district heating by 2030. Underpinning the potential for district heating in Ireland is the analysis undertaken by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) as part of the National Heat Study, which indicates that district heating could provide up to 50% of building heating demand in Ireland.

To further develop information in that regard, the SEAI is, in partnership with local authorities, currently engaged in a programme of feasibility studies for district heating. The outputs of this programme will provide further insights into the potential for district heating and will also provide a standardised approach for any future feasibility studies.

Although district heating, as a sector in Ireland, is in its infancy, progress is being made. I recently launched the Tallaght District Heating Scheme, which uses waste energy from a data centre, and this phase of the scheme is providing heat to 32,800m2 of public buildings. When fully operational, the scheme will provide low carbon heat to public sector, commercial and residential customers.

My Department will shortly submit to Government the Report of the District Heating Steering Group which will provide recommendations for the next stages of District Heating development in Ireland.

Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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108. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if the current or future potential of households to connect to district heating is a criterion in determining eligibility for supports that subsidise heat pumps and retrofitting work under the One-Stop-Shop or better energy homes schemes. [20969/23]

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 carbon 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.

A particularly important aspect of the Retrofit Plan was the launch, last year, of a new package of enhanced SEAI retrofit supports. Demand across the SEAI residential and community energy upgrade schemes (including Solar PV) was exceptionally high following the introduction of these measures. Over 50,000 applications were received in 2022 an increase of 150% on 2021 levels signalling a strong pipeline of activity for 2023.

There are no eligibility restrictions under these schemes linked to the current or future potential of a home to connect to district heating.

The National Heat Study, published in February 2022, found that in terms of reducing the carbon footprint of domestic heating, heat pumps are the optimal decarbonisation path for domestic heating systems, with district heating also identified as a competitive option that can be widely deployed. The Government has established a Heat and Built Environment Delivery Taskforce and will publish a new National Policy Statement on Heat to guide the Government’s overall response to the National Heat Study across all sectors.