Michael Cahill (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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92. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the number of homes in County Kerry currently on the waiting list for the warmer homes scheme, and the approximate wait time. [6710/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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The Warmer Homes Scheme aims to improve the energy efficiency and warmth of homes owned by people in energy poverty by providing fully-funded retrofits. The scheme is operated by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) on behalf of my Department and is funded through the carbon tax receipts and the European Regional Development Fund.

Last year saw a record spend of almost €230 million under the scheme. This resulted in 7,743 upgrades being provided to low-income households, a 31% increase on 2023. This year’s budget includes an allocation of €280 million for the Warmer Homes Scheme. This represents a 10-fold increase on the 2020 expenditure figure.

The scheme has been delivering a greater number of deeper and more complex upgrades in recent years. This is reflected in the average cost of upgrades which has increased from €2,600 in 2015 to over €27,700 in 2024. While these deeper retrofits take longer to complete, significant reductions in the average waiting time have still been achieved. The average wait time reduced from 26 months in 2022 to 18 months for homes with BER ratings of E, F and G in 2024.

Last year, 209 homes in County Kerry were upgraded under the Scheme. The SEAI data shows that there are 540 home awaiting upgrades under the scheme in County Kerry.

Applicants can contact the SEAI at any time to get further information on the status of their application either by email or by telephone – details are on the SEAI website. Oireachtas members can make queries on behalf of applicants by contacting the dedicated email address oireachtas@seai.ie.

Paul Lawless (Mayo, Aontú)
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93. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the number of home retrofits carried out in Mayo in each of the past five years (details supplied); and if he will reverse this policy considering how exposed it leaves people who rely solely on electricity. [6364/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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The Climate Action Plan and National Retrofit Plan set ambitious targets to retrofit the equivalent of 500,000 homes to a Building Energy Rating (BER) of B2/cost optimal and the installation of 400,000 heat pumps in existing homes to replace older, less efficient heating systems by end-2030.

Data from SEAI shows that in the period 2020-2024, almost 162,000 property upgrades have been supported through the SEAI residential and community energy upgrade schemes, including the Solar PV scheme, across all counties.

Of these, almost 5,300 upgrades were carried out in County Mayo as follows: • 2024: 1,914• 2023: 1,654• 2022: 964• 2021: 383• 2020: 369

The upgrades made these Mayo homes warmer, healthier and more comfortable, with lower energy bills and lower emissions.

This year's record allocation of almost €550 million to the SEAI for their home energy upgrade schemes will support over 64,500 home energy upgrades, including Solar PV. The overall allocation will mean that the progress made last year under the National Retrofit Plan will be further built on in 2025.

My Department is also investigating the possibility of utilising microgeneration and battery storage solutions (including EV batteries) as an opportunity to provide homes and businesses with greater independence and resilience from the national grid for times of interrupted power. Solar PV systems and battery storage solutions (including EV batteries with vehicle to home/grid capabilities) can be designed to act in response to dynamic conditions, such as fluctuating prices or grid congestion scenarios. Such systems can also be configured to operate at times when a grid connection is temporarily unavailable, through the use of additional changeover switches and appropriate electrical wiring. Work is underway to assess the feasibility of supporting such smart energy solutions which will allow us to both protect customers and achieve our climate targets.

Issues related to new build homes is a matter for the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.