Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 16 September 2021
51. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications his plans to meet retrofitting targets; if he will set out year-on-year targets by retrofitting programme; if he has examined other funding mechanisms for retrofitting houses given the number of homes that need to be retrofitted and the high up-front cost to households; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44099/21]
View answerThe Programme for Government and the Climate Action Plan set ambitious targets for the number and depth of residential retrofits to be completed by 2030. The targets are to retrofit 500,000 homes to a Building Energy Rating of B2 and to install 400,000 heat pumps in existing buildings by 2030. This year, €221.5 million in capital funding has been provided for SEAI residential and community retrofit schemes. This represents an 82% increase on the 2020 allocation and is the largest amount ever for the schemes. SEAI offers grants of up to 35% of the cost of home energy upgrades to homeowners as well as free home energy upgrades to people at risk of energy poverty. Output targets for grant schemes are set as part of the annual planning process.
The new National Retrofit Plan will be published in quarter 4 of this year. The plan is designed to address barriers to energy efficiency investments in four key areas: demand generation, financing and affordability, supply chain capacity, and governance. The plan will set out a range of measures to support the achievement of our residential retrofit targets. We will continue to track and monitor progress against the targets, evaluate the impact of measures introduced and make adjustments to the plan as necessary.
My Department is also engaging with Department of Finance and the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland in relation to the development of a residential retrofit loan guarantee scheme. The loan guarantee, which is co-funded by the EU, will enable credit institutions to offer loans with reduced interest rates and make comprehensive home energy efficiency upgrades more affordable to consumers. As a result, households will be able to enjoy more comfortable and healthier homes with a lower carbon footprint. The recently published Housing for All plan also commits the development of a proposal in relation to a new Local Authority Energy Efficiency Retrofit Loan for homeowners, supported by the Housing Finance Agency.
