Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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143. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if he was aware that boilers done through grants are only available for ‘bunded’ boilers; the reason this is the case; and what report was done to include these in the mandate for boiler repairs. [45020/24]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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My Department funds a number of grant schemes, administered by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) to support homeowners to improve the energy efficiency of their properties.

SEAI grants for homeowners are focused on those measures which will be most effective in reducing energy use and reducing our carbon emissions. In order to move away from the installation of gas or oil heating systems, grant supports under the part-funded schemes are available for installing heat pumps in place of fossil fuel heating systems, rather than for replacement or repair of gas or oil boilers systems.

Contractors operating under any scheme supported by an SEAI grant must carry out the works in line with the SEAI’s Contractor Code of Practice and Domestic Technical Standards and Specifications as well as best practice and technical guidance documents including:

• NSAI S.R. 54:2014 Code of practice for the energy efficient retrofit of dwellings
• The System Supplier/Product Manufacturer Guidelines
• Irish Agrément certificates
• Irish, British or European Standards Guides
• Building Regulations and associated Technical Guidance Documents, including Technical Guidance Document Part J which sets out requirements for the installation of heating systems.

In order to move the scheme away from the installation of gas or oil heating systems where the Building Regulations are triggered comply with the EPBD; and provide more extensive upgrades with decarbonised heating systems under the scheme, the National Retrofit Plan included a commitment to carry out a pilot to upgrade homes under the scheme to a B2 standard and install heat pumps. This pilot is gathering evidence to inform the appropriate process and approach to increase the number of B2 upgrades and heat pumps installations delivered under this scheme.