Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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187. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment his plans to reduce the three-year waiting time for the energy upgrades under the warmer homes scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10365/25]

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 an 11-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 the worst Building Energy Ratings of E, F and G in 2024.

The reduction in wait times follows a range of measures introduced by my Department and the SEAI including:

• the SEAI has been allocated additional staff for the Warmer Homes Scheme
• there is a significantly increased budget allocation
• the SEAI are increasing contractor output through active contract engagement and management
• actions are being taken to address ongoing supply chain and inflationary pressures

The Deputy may wish to note that Government also has other schemes and supports in place which may be of assistance where there is an urgent need:

• The Department of Social Protection's Additional Needs Payment is a payment available to people who have essential expenses that they cannot pay from their weekly income. Additional Needs Payments are paid under Supplementary Welfare Allowance which is administered by the Community Welfare Service (CWS) or the Department of Social Protection. Details are available here: www.gov.ie/en/service/4eb45-additional-needs-payment/.

• The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage's Housing Adaptation Grants can assist older people to have necessary adaptations, repairs or improvement works carried out in order to make their accommodation more suitable for their needs. Details are available here: .

Applicants can contact the SEAI at any time to get further information on the status of their application either by email to warmerhomes@seai.ie or by phone to 1800 250 204. Oireachtas members can make queries on behalf of applicants by contacting the dedicated email address oireachtas@seai.ie.