Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein)
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213. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment further to Parliamentary Question No. 194 of 6 March 2025, the total amount of funding awarded under the community energy grant to the retrofitting of MUDs; the amount of funding that was provided to energy poor homes; the way in which ‘energy poor homes’ are defined; the total amount of funding provided to approved housing bodies, by approved housing body; the funding that was provided to private landlords; the average amount of funding that was provided, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13145/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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The Community Energy Grant Scheme supports cross-sectoral, partnership approaches that deliver energy savings to a range of building type including public, commercial and community buildings with a particular focus on using the projects to deliver home retrofits, encompassing energy-poor, private, rental, and approved housing body homes. Last year, 683 home energy upgrades were supported under the scheme, with 63 of these being energy-poor homes and 220 approved housing body homes.

The Community Energy Grant Scheme offers enhanced fuel poor grant levels for energy poor homes. These grants are aligned to the rates applying to Approved Housing Bodies with further enhanced rates also available for external and internal wall insulation.

Eligibility for the energy poor home grant rates is the same as the Warmer Homes Scheme criteria which in turn is linked to a number of Department of Social Protection payments. Homeowners can check their eligibility for the scheme through an online application feature on the website of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, or can apply in writing to the SEAI.

A number of changes to the scheme guidelines were introduced in 2024, including: support for projects focused solely on residential upgrades; improved supports to address the particular challenge of retrofitting multi-unit developments (e.g. flat complexes), such as scaffolding and communal areas; and a pilot focused on area-based home retrofit projects which will encourage Community Energy Grant project co-ordinators, local authorities and local energy agencies to collaborate together, with an objective of leaving no home behind.

The collation of the specific data sought in the Question is an operational matter for the SEAI and I have asked them to provide this material, in so far as it is available, directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.