Environmental Schemes

Tuesday, 22 February 2022

Questions (114, 168)

Pearse Doherty

Question:

114. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the breakdown of the drawdown of the €100 million allocated to investment in residential and community energy efficiency further to the allocation of carbon tax expenditures provided in table 1 of the budget 2021 document, the Use of Carbon Tax Funds 2021; if any of these funds were surrendered back to the Exchequer at the end of 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9134/22]

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Alan Kelly

Question:

168. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the amount of funding allocated for retrofitting schemes that was unspent in 2021; if the funding was carried over for schemes in 2022; if not, if it has been used for other purposes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10001/22]

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Written answers

Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications (Deputy Eamon Ryan)

I propose to take Questions Nos.114 and 168 together.

The capital allocation for the residential and community retrofit schemes in 2021 was €221.5m, details of which are set out in the table below. This figure included €100m from the proceeds of the 2021 increase in carbon tax and €13m in continued carbon tax investment from 2020.

Scheme	€m
Better Energy - Homes	31.5
Better Energy - Warmer Homes	100.0
Better Energy - Warmth and Wellbeing	9.0
Deep Retrofit Pilot	3.4
Better Energy - Communities	30.0
Solar PV	8.0
Community Activation Fund	10.0
BER Supports	2.5
One Stop Shop	27.1

Expenditure in 2021 on the retrofit schemes was lower than allocations at €101.3m, mainly due to the impact of Covid-19. The €114.2m underspend was not surrendered but was retained by my Department and formed part of €160m transferred to the Energy Efficiency National Fund (EENF) in December 2021.

Details of the €160m transfer to the EENF, which included €100 million to support energy efficiency improvements for households and €60 million for the proposed low interest rate loan scheme in 2022, were set out at the Select Committee on the Environment and Climate Action at its consideration of a supplementary estimate for my Department on 1st December 2021.

A total of €267m, of which €202 million is from the investment of carbon tax receipts, is being allocated for residential and community retrofit schemes in 2022. As outlined in the recently published National Retrofit Plan*, this investment will support almost 27,000 home energy upgrades, including over 8,600 homes to a BER of B2 and 4,800 free energy upgrades for households at risk of energy poverty.