Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 22 February 2022
139. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if the low-interest loans and the one-stop shop are intended to support all energy upgrades or only those deep retrofits designed to get to a B2 BER rating. [9550/22]
View answerThe Government has approved a package of supports as part of the delivery of Ireland’s residential retrofit programme. These measures are aimed at making it easier and more affordable for homeowners to undertake home energy upgrades, for warmer, healthier and more comfortable homes, with lower energy bills and lower emissions.
Included in these measures is the establishment of the new National Home Energy Upgrade Scheme, offering increased and very generous grant levels of up to 50% of the cost of a typical B2 home energy upgrade with a heat pump (up from the current level of 30-35%).
In addition, Government have been clear that it is important that households that want to undertake a deep retrofit but do not have the financial means to carry out the upgrade in a single project, should be supported at the enhanced grant levels. For that reason, many of the new higher grant rates are also now available under the Better Energy Homes Scheme allowing homeowners to take a step-by-step approach or self-manage the project. The One Stop Shops can support homeowners under either scheme.
Window and door replacements are available under the National Home Energy Upgrade Scheme, as well as under the Community Energy Grant scheme, as part of a whole house upgrade solution, as required, to achieve an energy efficient home to B2. Window and door replacement are also available in some circumstances under the Better Energy Warmer Homes Scheme which delivers free upgrades to eligible homeowners in low income households vulnerable to energy poverty.Window and door replacements are not supported under the Better Energy Homes Scheme, where homeowners can choose to carry out works on a step by step, and/or, self-managed basis.
The residential retrofit loan guarantee scheme is part of Ireland’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan and will be co-financed by the EU Recovery and Resilience Facility and Exchequer funding. The target for introduction of the scheme is Q3-2022. The loan guarantee will enable credit institutions to offer loans with reduced interest rates to private homeowners and non-corporate landlords and make comprehensive home energy efficiency upgrades even more affordable and accessible to more consumers.
The parameters for the loans under the guarantee have not been finalised yet. However, the EU Recovery and Resilience Facility funding sets a number of conditions the guarantee must comply with. One of those is that at least 75% of loans issued under the guarantee are used for medium-depth retrofit projects. Medium-depth level renovation is defined as upgrades achieving primary energy savings of between 30% and 60%, as per Commission Recommendation on Building Renovation (EU) 2019/786. Consequently, the low-cost retrofit loans under the guarantee will predominantly, though not exclusively, target comprehensive home energy upgrade projects.
