Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

199. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government his plans to enhance the retrofit grant system to allow for individual elements, such as windows or doors, to be retrofitted, in order that households that cannot afford a full retrofit can do so incrementally; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55279/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Ensuring fairness to all and supporting a just transition are key principles underpinning the National Retrofit Plan. The Government is committed to driving increased retrofitting and home energy upgrades, as part of the plan and as set out in the Programme for Government. This includes improving the provision of grants and financing models for homeowners who wish to retrofit, enhancing energy efficiency and reducing costs.

The cost of a retrofit depends on a range of factors including the size and type of home, as well as the age and starting condition of the property, and the retrofitting works required or recommended.

The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), therefore, has a number of schemes in place to support homeowners to upgrade their properties.

• the National Home Energy Upgrade Scheme is available for homeowners wishing to avail of the complete home energy upgrade service provided through the one stop shops;

• the Community Energy Grant is available for homeowners seeking to carry out their deep retrofit as part of a community project;

• the Better Energy Homes Scheme provides grants for individual elements and facilitates homeowners wishing to undertake home energy upgrades through a step-by-step incremental approach; and

• the Warmer Homes Scheme delivers fully funded home energy upgrades to the homes of people who are vulnerable to energy poverty.

The range of schemes available allows homeowners to choose the best home upgrade option to suit their particular needs.

From 2019 to end September 2025, the SEAI schemes provided over €1.5 billion in support to homeowners for 228,350 home energy upgrades, including 30,600 fully-funded upgrades for households at risk of energy poverty under the Warmer Homes Scheme, and 17,100 heat pump installations. In addition, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage funded a further 14,300 Local Authority upgrades, including over 7,250 heat pumps between 2019 to 2024.

In addition to increases in annual budget allocations for these schemes, there has also been a range of additional measures and supports introduced under the National Retrofit Plan in recent years to support the achievement of our targets, as well as ensuring accessibility and affordability for homeowners. These include:

• the delivery of deeper and more complex retrofits under the fully-funded Warmer Homes Schemes for those at risk of energy poverty, where the average cost of upgrades reported by the SEAI has increased from €2,600 in 2015 to over €29,000 in 2025;

• increases in grant rates within the part-funded SEAI schemes;

• the Home Energy Upgrade Loan Scheme, providing retrofit loans with interest rates as low as 2.99%; and

• a reduction in the VAT rate for heat pumps to 9% and a 0% rate for solar panels.

My Department and the SEAI continue to keep grant schemes terms and conditions, eligibility criteria and rates under review taking account of demand, research, innovation, evolving technology, costs, inflation, and other relevant factors.

Details of the various energy upgrade schemes are available on the SEAI website at: www.seai.ie/grants.