Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 12 October 2021
41. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the way in which local authorities and homeowners will be able to apply for the €1.3 billion for retrofitting 500,000 homes to a Building Energy Rating of B2 as per the renewed National Development Plan 2021-2030; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49273/21]
View answerThe Climate Action Plan and Programme for Government set highly ambitious targets for the number and depth of retrofits to be completed by 2030. A new National Retrofit Plan to be published shortly will detail the Government’s approach to meeting these targets and will address barriers to retrofit across four key areas: driving demand and activity; financing and affordability; supply chain, skills and standards; and structures and governance.
Improving the energy efficiency of our homes is a critical climate priority and a major focus of the funding provided in the National Development Plan review. €5 billion in carbon tax receipts will be invested by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications to support the achievement of our national targets which are to retrofit 500,000 homes to a Building Energy Rating of B2/cost optimal or carbon equivalent and to install 400,000 heat pumps in existing homes by 2030. Annual allocations totalling €1.3 billion are identified in the NDP for the period 2022-2025.
The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) residential and community energy efficiency schemes will be a central element of the Government’s retrofit plan. These schemes provide free energy upgrades for households in, or at risk of, energy poverty as well as partial grants for those that can contribute to the cost. Full details on the application processes for the range of schemes operated by the SEAI are available at www.seai.ie.
A new National Home Retrofit Scheme will be launched at the end of this year. The Scheme will support homeowners to achieve deeper (B2) retrofits with heat pumps and will facilitate continuous, year-round working and the multi-year planning which has long been identified as a crucial requirement by the supply chain and homeowners. Information on this scheme will be published at its launch.
The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage is responsible for the local authority retrofit programme. The “Housing for All” plan commits to the retrofitting of 36,500 local authority homes by 2030 which will contribute to the achievement of our overall retrofit target.
