Brian Brennan (Wicklow-Wexford, Fine Gael)
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156. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if there are plans in place to allow access to SEAI PV grant funding for those building new houses; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6131/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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Domestic electricity micro-generation is supported by the Micro-generation Support Scheme (MSS). Grants are available through the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) for domestic installations of solar PV, up to a maximum of €1,800 in 2025.

Since the introduction of the MSS domestic grant in February 2022, the SEAI have seen application levels rise sharply. In 2023, 22,214 households received grant support totalling €52.2m, while last year saw over 28,000 households supported and 160MW of generation capacity installed. This high level of demand is expected to continue into 2025. The eligibility criteria for the Domestic Solar PV scheme are based on the MSS high level design approved by Government in December 2021, with the Final Scheme Design published in 2022. Grants are administered by the SEAI and are available to houses built and occupied prior to 2021.

The current scheme built on the success of a previous pilot version of the grant scheme. As part of the transition between schemes and in order to increase access to the new scheme; the eligibility criteria was changed from those houses built prior to 2011, to those built prior to 2021.

Targeting the grant scheme at older homes, maximizes emissions reductions and delivers energy savings for the widest range of homeowners possible, whilst also making the most efficient use of limited Exchequer funding for the scheme. There are no plans to change the building year requirement at this stage but grant eligibility will be kept under review, and changes to the scheme will be made when necessary.