Michael Murphy (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)
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235. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the current number of warmer homes scheme applications awaiting survey and awaiting completion, by county; the median and 90th percentile wait time in months for survey and completion in each county; and the longest individual wait recorded; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [61303/25]

Michael Murphy (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)
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236. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government for a monthly time series for the past 24-months, by county of new warmer homes scheme applications received, surveys completed, works completed and closing backlog at month-end; and to publish this in machine-readable format. [61304/25]

Michael Murphy (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)
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237. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the number of on-hand cases, by county and status (details supplied); and the average age of cases in each status. [61305/25]

Michael Murphy (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)
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238. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the number and proportion of warmer home applications withdrawn, cancelled, or ineligible in the past 12-months, by county and by reason; and the average time for a decision for ineligible cases. [61306/25]

Michael Murphy (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)
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239. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the number of active framework contractors and accredited surveyors engaged on the warmer homes scheme, by county; their combined monthly capacity (surveys and completions); and how this compares with monthly inflow of applications in each county. [61307/25]

Michael Murphy (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)
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242. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if a fast-track pathway operates for households identified by HSE, public health nurses or local authorities as at immediate risk from cold or damp; the number of such fast-tracked cases by county; and the average time to completion. [61310/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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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 Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), therefore, has a number of schemes and delivery models in place to support homeowners to upgrade their properties. The range of schemes available allows homeowners to choose the best home upgrade option to suit their particular needs.

• The Better Energy Homes Scheme and Solar PV Scheme are demand-led schemes which require homeowners to procure their own contractor following grant approval from SEAI (this approval process is instantaneous once all requirements for the SEAI grant application portal are met by applicants). Works must be completed within an 8-month period, starting from the date of grant approval.
• Under the National Home Energy Home Upgrade Scheme and Community Energy Grant Scheme, homeowners engage a registered One Stop Shop or Project Co-ordinator, respectively, to manage the grant application process and oversee delivery of the retrofit on their behalf. Works must be completed under these schemes within 12 months.
• The Warmer Homes scheme is the only scheme delivered directly by SEAI. The scheme provides fully-funded upgrades to households at risk of energy poverty. The average waiting time under the Warmer Homes Scheme, from application to completion of upgrade works, to date in 2025 was 21 months for the worst performing homes and 22 months for better performing homes. Applications are assessed on the basis of when they first apply to the SEAI. Homes with the worst Building Energy Ratings (E, F or G) are then prioritised for works. I am advised that no other prioritisation takes place under the scheme.

Martin Daly (Roscommon-Galway, Fianna Fail)
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245. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if his Department has plans in place to support retrofitting and energy upgrades for households struggling with heating costs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [61476/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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The Government is committed to driving increased retrofitting and home energy upgrades, as part of the National Retrofit Plan and as set out in the Programme for Government. This includes the continued delivery of the SEAI residential and community energy upgrade schemes, including delivering more B2 home energy upgrades; revising and improving the provision of grants and financing models for homeowners who wish to retrofit; enhancing energy efficiency and reducing costs; as well as supporting group retrofitting projects and area-based approaches to retrofitting.

My Department funds a number of grant schemes, administered by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), to support homeowners improve the energy efficiency of their buildings, through grants for the fabric upgrade of buildings, as well as solar PV and heat pump installation. From 2019 to end September 2025, SEAI schemes provided over €1.5 billion in support to homeowners for 228,350 home energy upgrades, including over 31,000 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.

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

• 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.

Budget 2026 announced funding of €558 million from the carbon tax for SEAI residential and community energy upgrades, including the Solar PV (photovoltaic) Scheme. This is an €89 million increase on last year’s carbon tax allocation and means that more funding than ever will be available to make homes warmer, healthier, more comfortable and less expensive to heat. This allocation is again expected to be further supplemented with additional funding, such as an allocation from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

Further details, including scheme allocations and targets for the number of homes to be completed in 2026, will be published as part of the Revised Estimates Volume later this year.