John Connolly (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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126. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the supports available within his Department to maintain the operation of the Galway warm home hub, a project located in the Galway decarbonisation zone as part of the NetZeroCities initiative; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30336/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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Local authorities have a key role to play in delivering climate action. This role is underpinned by the statutory requirement to prepare Local Authority Climate Action Plans. Galway City Council adopted its Plan in February 2024.

As part of their Climate Action Plans, each local authority designated a Decarbonising Zone (DZ) which is intended to be the focus for a range of climate mitigation, adaptation and biodiversity measures. Galway City Council chose the areas of Newcastle, Rahoon, Shantalla, and Westside as their DZ.

Galway City Council is participating in the EU NetZeroCities Pilot Cities Programme which supports European cities to test and implement innovative approaches to reduce carbon emissions. Under the programme, Galway City have secured €1m in funding over a two-year period to carry out a project focusing on energy efficiency in buildings in the Westside area of their DZ through a Warm Home Hub.

The Warm Home Hub provides free guidance and support to local residents who wish to upgrade and retrofit their homes. The goal of the Hub is to support the retrofitting of 250 homes in the Galway Westside area over a two-year period until the project conclusion date of May 2025.

My Department is currently exploring options for extending the project until the end of 2025, working with Galway City Council and the SEAI, and I am keen to support Galway City Council to continue this valuable work.