John Clendennen (Offaly, Fine Gael)
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195. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government to set-out the supports available to support homeowners who currently rely on turf for their home heating to transition to renewable heating systems; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36237/25]

John Clendennen (Offaly, Fine Gael)
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196. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government to set-out the supports available to support homeowners who currently rely on turf for their home heating to transition to renewable heating systems; if supports for this cohort will be provided by the way of Ireland’s Social Climate Plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36238/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 195 and 196 together.

My Department funds a number of schemes administered by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) to support homeowners to improve the energy efficiency of their dwellings. Individual energy upgrade grants 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.

SEAI domestic retrofit programmes are available to all households wishing to undertake energy upgrades where the programme criteria are met, including those reliant on solid fuels such as coal and peat for heating.

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; and

• 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 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 grow the home upgrade sector, as well as being informed by ongoing pilots such as the Traditional Homes Pilot and the Warmer Homes Heat Pump Pilot.

My Department is also currently preparing a draft Social Climate Plan in consultation with relevant Departmental stakeholders and with the European Commission. A variety of targeted measures aimed at providing long-term solutions to reduce fossil fuel reliance and effectively help vulnerable groups impacted by the rising price of carbon are being examined for inclusion in the plan. As a key part of this process, my Department is currently designing a public consultation to inform the development of the plan. Through this process, it will be open to the public and stakeholders to submit their views on potential measures for consideration for inclusion in the plan. This public consultation will launch in the coming weeks.