Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 2 April 2019
408. Deputy Declan Breathnach asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if his attention has been drawn to the fact that there are long delays in applications for the SEAI home energy grants; his plans to make additional funding available to the scheme in order to increase the number of contractors involved; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14977/19]
View answerMy Department funds a number of home energy efficiency schemes that are administered by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI). I have allocated €85m to these schemes in 2019. As with all Exchequer funded programmes, these are managed within available resources. The Better Energy Homes Scheme provides fixed cash grants towards a range of energy efficiency measures. Homeowners must apply online for grant approval before employing a contractor from the SEAI's Register of Contractors, which is available on the SEAI website. Online approval will be made for eligible applicants within minutes, with an official letter of offer following within 5 working days. Homeowners then have 30 days to accept the offer and 6 months from the date of grant approval to complete their works. Payment is generally made within 4 weeks of submission of the final declaration of completed works. However, longer waiting times for payment can arise if a home is selected for an inspection of works.
The Deep Retrofit Pilot Programme provides 50% funding towards a deep energy upgrade of a home. Homeowners must apply through a Deep Retrofit Service Provider who provide a timeline of works to the homeowner. The standard turnaround time from receipt of a valid application to approval is approximately 8 weeks though longer waiting times can occur for higher value project applications. A list of Service Providers is available on the SEAI's website.
The Better Energy Communities Scheme provides grants to community projects, led by a single project manager, that pull together buildings from the private, public and commercials sectors. The approval timeframe under this Scheme is generally in the order of 8-10 weeks, with longer waiting times associated with higher value project applications. A project approval tracker is available on
https://www.seai.ie/__uuid/cd83e4dc-10a8-4f09-acea-d7cbc6896a49/Communities-grant-status-tracker.pdf /.
Works under this scheme must be competed by a given deadline in order for projects to receive funding within the calendar year.
The Warmer Homes Scheme provides energy efficiency upgrades free of charge to households on lower incomes. The works carried out in each house are determined by a technical survey of the home. In light of the scale of works and funding for individual interventions, current waiting time under the Scheme is up to 18 months in some instances. Homes that are recommended for deeper energy efficiency measures such as external wall insulation or heating upgrades face longer waiting times than those receiving simpler measures such as attic insulation. Waiting times are also impacted by the high demand for the Scheme and the capacity of SEAI's contractor panel to deliver deeper measures. The current contractor panel is in place until 2020
The issue of additional funding for the schemes will be considered as part of the annual Estimates process.
