Peter Cleere (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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306. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the current waiting list for the warmer homes scheme in County Carlow; how this compares to waiting lists in other counties; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20699/25]

Peter Cleere (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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307. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the current waiting list for the warmer homes scheme in County Kilkenny; how this compares to waiting lists in other counties; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20700/25]

Peter Cleere (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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308. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the number of surveyors currently working in County Carlow for the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland; if there are plans to recruit additional surveyors; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20701/25]

Peter Cleere (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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309. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the number of surveyors currently working in County Kilkenny for the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland; if there are plans to recruit additional surveyors; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20703/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 306, 307, 308 and 309 together.

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. As reported by the SEAI, 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 the SEAI indicates has increased from €2,600 in 2015 to just under €29,000 in Q1 2025. 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 21 months for homes with BER ratings of E, F and G in Q1 2025.

The reduction in waiting times followed a range of measures introduced by my Department and the SEAI. However, given the very high number of applications and greater volume of deeper retrofits provided under the scheme, the SEAI is projecting that new applications may face longer waiting times. My officials continue to work with the SEAI to maximise and accelerate the output of free energy upgrades provided under this important scheme.

It is noted that surveys and upgrade works under the scheme are contracted by the SEAI to be provided nationwide and are not procured on a county by county basis. In 2023, the SEAI established a €700 million nationwide contractor panel, which is in place for 4 years, adding 7 additional contractors and bringing the total to 36.

The table below sets out the number of homes awaiting works under the scheme. This includes homes that are currently undergoing works; have been allocated to contractors for works; have completed an initial home survey and are awaiting allocation to a contractor; or are awaiting the initial survey of their home.

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.

Peter Cleere (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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310. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the number of homes that have been retrofitted in each of the past five years, broken down by county; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20704/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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My Department funds a number of grant schemes administered by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) to support homeowners improve the energy efficiency of their building, and to promote the adoption of renewable energy systems. These schemes include grants for fabric upgrade of buildings (e.g. insulation) as well as Solar PV and heat pump installations.

Data from the SEAI shows that in the five-year period 2020 to 2024, almost 162,000 energy efficiency upgrades across all counties have been supported through the SEAI residential and community energy upgrade schemes. Almost €900 million has been provided in grant payments in the same period.

A breakdown by year and county, based on figures compiled by the SEAI, is provided in the attached document. It is noted that a more detailed overview of the SEAI performance against annual targets on the residential and community energy efficiency schemes can be found in their most recently published quarterly report, which can be found on the SEAI website at: seai-retrofit-quarterly-report-q3-2024.pdf. The 2024 Annual Review will also be published shortly by SEAI.

Data includes all SEAI retrofit domestic programmes.