Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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66.To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the efforts being made by his Department to reduce the waiting period for the warmer homes grant scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31166/24]

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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102.To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if he will review how the SEAI warmer homes grant is prioritised to ensure that the least energy efficient (low BER rating), and applicants with illness who need warmer homes, are prioritised. [32935/24]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 66 and 102 together.

In recent years, the Warmer Homes Scheme has delivered a greater volume of deeper and more complex upgrades. This is reflected in the average cost of upgrades which have seen an almost tenfold increase from €2,600 in 2015 to approximately €26,500 in 2024.

These deeper upgrades mean that more lower income homeowners are benefitting significantly from warmer, healthier and more comfortable homes, with lower energy bills and reduced emissions. However, it is important to acknowledge that deeper retrofits take longer to complete. This improvement in the upgrades provided under the scheme in tandem with increased awareness of the multiple benefits of retrofit are driving significantly increased levels of demand.

For homes completed in 2023, the average waiting time from application to completion was 20 months. This is a reduction from 26 months for homes completed in 2022. In February 2022 the Government announced a change to the scheme, which means that home with the worst energy ratings (E, F, G) are now prioritised for works.

A range of measures introduced by my Department and SEAI contributed to the reduction in waiting times, including:

• significantly increased budgets and budget certainty with a record spend of €158 million in 2023 and an allocation of almost €210 million in place for 2024;
• increased staffing resources in SEAI; and
• actions to address supply chain challenges.