Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 10 November 2020
194. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Environment, Climate and Communications his plans for the introduction of a simpler application process for homeowners in accessing home energy grants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35283/20]
View answerThe 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. SEAI retrofit schemes will form a crucial part of our approach to achieving these targets. Full details on the application processes for schemes operated by the SEAI are available at www.seai.ie . Improvements to the processes that apply to individual schemes are made on an ongoing basis. The most recent example of this was the launch in recent days of the Communities Energy Grant which has seen the evaluation process for applications shortened from 12 weeks to 6-8 weeks. Online applications for the Better Energy Homes scheme already receive an immediate response. Further improvements, including changes to the SEAI’s systems and processes, will be implemented as we transition to our new retrofit programme.
It is recognised however that more will need to be done to simplify the customer journey for householders considering energy efficiency upgrades. This will be achieved by shifting the burden of retrofit project coordination from homeowners to one-stop-shops. One-stop-shops make retrofit projects simpler for homeowners by combining the different components associated with retrofit projects including demand generation, home assessments, grant application, contractor engagement, project management, quality assurance and finance provision.
The recently launched call for projects under the new National Retrofit (One-stop-shop development) scheme is designed to encourage and support the development and growth of one stop shops which will act as a single point of contact for customers and deliver an end-to-end service. They will also facilitate larger more efficient delivery of retrofits.
