Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 2 December 2020
37. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if it will be ensured that section 39 companies that provide housing to vulnerable persons and are funded under the Health Acts can access the national retrofitting scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40605/20]
View answerSEAI grant schemes will be a central element of the Government's approach to achieving our national retrofit targets. 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 an 82% increase, on the 2020 allocation and is the largest ever budget for the schemes. 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.
Section 39 organisations that provide housing to vulnerable persons and are funded under the Health Acts are eligible to participate in schemes under the national retrofitting programme.The Communities Energy Grant Scheme (previously known as the Better Energy Communities Scheme) funds community-based partnerships to improve the energy efficiency of the building stock in their area – homes, community facilities and businesses. It also encourages innovative measures and solutions. These partnerships can be between the public and private sectors, domestic and non-domestic sectors, commercial and not-for-profit organisations and energy suppliers. A new call for projects under this scheme was issued in early November. More details are available on the SEAI website at the following link: https://www.seai.ie/grants/community-grants/. The new National Home Retrofit Scheme (One Stop Shop Development Call) opened for applications at the end of September. This scheme is designed to encourage the development of One-Stop-Shops and engage groups of private households, registered Housing Associations/Approved Housing Bodies and Local Authorities who wish to participate in delivering energy efficiency upgrades, specifically in domestic buildings. The scheme will facilitate larger, more efficient aggregated projects and will bring benefits for homeowners and for the supply side. Further details on the new scheme are available at on the SEAI website at: https://www.seai.ie/grants/national-home-retrofit/National-Home-Retrofit-Scheme-Guidelines.pdf.
