Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein)
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311. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment regarding the warmer homes scheme, to provide a breakdown, per county, of the waiting list, as well the average wait time, in each of the years 2015 to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23539/25]

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 at risk of 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 of 2025. These deeper upgrades mean that more lower income homeowners are benefitting significantly from warmer, healthier and more comfortable homes, with lower energy bills and reduced emissions.

However, it is important to acknowledge that deeper retrofits take longer to complete. Notwithstanding this, significant reductions in the average waiting time have still been achieved, with the average 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 follows a range of measures introduced by my Department and the SEAI. These include the allocation of additional staff to the Warmer Homes Scheme; a significantly increased budget allocation; active contract engagement and management by the SEAI to increase contractor output; as well as actions to address ongoing supply chain and inflationary pressures.

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.

The table below sets out the average waiting time for the Warmer Homes Scheme work programme.

*P2 – eligible homes with BERs of D and above.

My officials and the SEAI continue to keep waiting times under review, and to work to deliver energy upgrades to low-income households and reduce the waiting times for the Warmer Homes Scheme as a priority.

The table below sets out the data requested on the number of homes currently on the Warmer Homes Scheme work programme by county. The homes on the work programme include homes that:

• are awaiting the initial survey of their homes;

• have completed an initial home survey and are awaiting allocation to a contractor;

• have been allocated to a contractor for works;

• are currently undergoing works.

The specific data requested by the Deputy in relation to waiting times pre-2018 is not routinely supplied by the SEAI to my Department. I have directed the SEAI to reply directly to the Deputy with the data requested for the Warmer Homes Scheme average waiting time, for the years 2015 to 2018. The SEAI has established a specific email address for queries from Oireachtas members so that such queries can be addressed promptly, in line with the SEAI’s objective to deliver services to the highest standards. The email address is oireachtas@seai.ie.

Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein)
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312. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment to outline specific supports provided by his Department to solid fuel households to transition to renewable energy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23540/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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My Department funds a number of schemes administered by the SEAI to support homeowners to improve the energy efficiency of their dwellings. Individual energy upgrade grants are available under the Better Energy Homes Scheme; the National Home Energy Upgrade Scheme, which provides an end-to-end service through One Stop Shops; and the Community Energy Grant scheme, which supports energy efficiency upgrades undertaken as part of a community project. There are also fully funded upgrades for qualifying households.

The SEAI domestic retrofit programmes are available to all households, including those reliant on solid fuel for heating, who wish to undertake energy upgrades and who meet the programme criteria.

Grant supports under the part-funded schemes are available for installing heat pumps in place of fossil fuel heating systems and, in recent years, a range of measures have been put in place to incentivise take-up among homeowners, including:

• enhanced grant rates of up to €10,500 for heat pumps when a B2 energy rating is achieved;

• amending the construction rule for grant support for heat pumps to include homes built and occupied before 2021;

• changes to the SEAI scheme rules to make the process of accessing heat pump grants easier for homeowners;

• a reduction in the VAT rate to 9% that applies to heat pumps;

• measures to expand the supply chain.

With regard to the fully funded Warmer Homes Scheme, where a heating system upgrade is required as part of a major renovation, the SEAI will assess the suitability of the home for a heat pump, or other renewable heating technologies, which are compliant with the EPBD (revised EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive).

The grant schemes provided by the SEAI are reviewed on a regular basis taking account of the overarching need to build a much bigger home upgrade sector, as well as being informed by ongoing pilots such as the Traditional Homes Pilot and the Warmer Homes Heat Pump Pilot.