Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 10 March 2021
95. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the status of retrofitting homes in the country; the number of those who have availed of the retrofitting programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45096/20]
View answerThe Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) administers a range of energy efficiency grant schemes to support homeowners to retrofit their properties. Since 2000, over 440,000 homeowners have received direct support under these schemes. Over 142,000 of these were free upgrades for lower income households. This has resulted in warmer, healthier and more comfortable homes that are easier and cheaper to heat and light.
Preliminary data shows that last year alone, SEAI residential and community retrofit schemes supported the upgrading of over 17,600 homes. This includes over 3,200 homes upgraded to BER rating of B2 or better. The number of retrofits last year were unfortunately, negatively impacted by COVID-19 related restrictions.
A total of €221.5 million in capital funding has been provided for SEAI residential and community retrofit programmes this year. This represents an 82% increase on the 2020 allocation and is the largest amount ever for the schemes. This allocation will kick-start the first phase of our retrofit plan. The funding has supported calls for projects under the new National Retrofit (One-Stop-Shop Development) scheme and the Community Energy Grant Scheme as well as a €47 million increase in funding for energy poverty schemes. Further SEAI administered retrofit initiatives will be launched in the coming months. In addition to the SEAI allocation, €65 million has been provided to the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage to support the retrofitting of local authority homes.
