Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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205. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the plans he has in place to encourage more tradespeople to register with SEAI; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59264/25]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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206. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the number of tradespeople registered with SEAI, per county; his views on the reasons for such a low uptake of registration, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59265/25]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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207. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if he will consider incentives for tradespeople if they register with SEAI; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59266/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 205 to 207, inclusive, together.

The National Retrofit Plan sets out the Government's approach to achieving the Climate Action Plan targets of upgrading the equivalent of 500,000 homes to a Building Energy Rating (BER) of B2/cost optimal level and installing 400,000 heat pumps to replace older, less efficient heating systems by 2030.

The National Retrofit Plan also sets out the Government’s approach to delivering on these targets. The Plan itself is built on four key pillars of demand, supply, financing and governance, with actions and initiatives flowing from each. A range of measures have been introduced under the plan in recent years to support the achievement of our targets. The plan notes that building up of capacity in the market to a point where it can deliver on our retrofit targets requires the right initiatives to stimulate and support the market to invest and attract new entrants. For that reason, supply chain, skills and standards were addressed in the plan as one of four key pillars in order to expand capacity in the retrofit and construction sector.

The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) recently launched a supply chain engagement marketing campaign focused on retrofit installers. The SEAI and my Department have been working with SOLAS, the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, and the Education and Training Boards across the country to make training and upskilling more accessible for contractors. This collaboration has been supported by the Government through the provision of full and part funded courses, and additional supports for contractors attending these programmes.

My Department funds a number of grant schemes, administered by the SEAI, to support homeowners to improve the energy efficiency of their properties. Any contractor wishing to offer homeowner grants for insulation measures and renewable technologies must register with the SEAI. Organisations are incentivised to register due to the business opportunities that arise from operating under these schemes.

The SEAI maintains a public register of these contractors. This can be accessed on their website at: hes.seai.ie/GrantProcess/ContractorSearch.aspx

This register includes details of contractors by county. As contracting companies are required to register rather than individual tradespeople, the total number of individual tradespeople involved in SEAI schemes will be greater than the number of companies listed.

In regard to the breakdown of the number of registered tradespeople with the SEAI per county, the information sought is an operational matter for the SEAI. It is suggested that the Deputy contact the SEAI directly in relation to this matter. The SEAI has established a specific email address for queries from Oireachtas members so that such queries can be addressed promptly and in line with the SEAI’s objective to deliver services to the highest standards. The email address is oireachtas@seai.ie.