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Budget 2021

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 20 October 2020

Tuesday, 20 October 2020

Questions (147)

Darren O'Rourke

Question:

147. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Environment, Climate and Communications the details of the retrofit plans announced in budget 2021 including the target completions, the total budget, the source of this funding and the cost per house; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31480/20]

View answer

Written answers

The Programme for Government and the Climate Action Plan set ambitious goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from buildings, including our homes, with targets to retrofit 500,000 homes to a Building Energy Rating of B2/cost optimal equivalent and to install 400,000 heat pumps in existing buildings over the next 10 years.

Budget 2021 provided €221.5 million in capital funding for residential and community retrofit programmes next year to be funded by my Department through the SEAI. This represents an additional €100 million, or 82% increase, on the 2020 allocation and is the largest amount ever in the budget for the schemes. This €100 million increase in allocation is funded through carbon tax revenue.

Of the €221.5 million allocated to my Department

- €109 million is allocated to provide free upgrades for lower income households;

- €112.5 million will be spent on expanding existing SEAI grant schemes and introducing new schemes, including:

- The National Retrofit Scheme (B2 package scheme) will facilitate the deeper renovation of homes to BER B2. A second strand of the National Retrofit Scheme will support One-Stop-Shops, Residential Service Providers, Employers, Financial Institutions, registered Housing Associations and Local Authorities who wish to participate in delivering energy efficiency upgrades to homes. This scheme was launched on 25 September last;

- A new Heat Pump Ready Homes Scheme targeting homes that are suitable for the installation of heat pumps with grant incentives;

- A new Community Activation scheme focused on supporting small-scale, capacity-building projects, pilots and feasibility studies and in particular supporting Sustainable Energy Communities.

It is estimated that next year, in total, SEAI residential and community schemes will deliver over 29,000 retrofits including approximately 8,000 to a B2 level and support over 8,500 direct and indirect jobs.

The amount of the grant provided per home will depend on the starting point of the home in question, the scheme the household is eligible for and the grant applied for.

A further €65 million has been provided for retrofitting the social housing stock through the Vote of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. It is estimated that this funding will result in 2,400 retrofits to B2 or cost optimal equivalent though the final number is dependent on the initial condition and dwelling type.

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