Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 4 May 2022
102. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if he will address a series of matters in relation to retrofit grants (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22342/22]
View answerThe National Home Energy Upgrade Scheme introduces a new, highly customer centric, way to undertake home upgrades. SEAI registered One-Stop-Shops will provide an end-to-end service for homeowners. This includes surveying; designing the upgrades; managing the grant process; helping with access to finance; engaging contractors; and quality assurance. The Scheme offers unprecedented grant levels, increased from circa 30% to 50% of the cost of a typical B2 home energy upgrade with a heat pump. Furthermore, many of the grant supports available under the new Scheme have also been aligned to other relevant schemes including the Better Energy Homes Scheme to support a step-by-step, self-managed approach to retrofit; and, the Community Energy Grant Scheme for homeowners that want to retrofit their homes as part of a community project.
Following Government approval, the SEAI registration portal opened for companies to apply to be a One-Stop-Shop, building on the preparatory work already undertaken. SEAI are focused on engaging organisations capable of professionally managing all aspects of a One Stop Shop service. Therefore, the registration process, for this new service, must be robust. The new Scheme will also be grounded in robust governance and oversight processes to ensure the OSSs are meeting the necessary customer and quality performance indicators.
The SEAI advise that five One Stop Shops have now been registered and SEAI is actively working with other applicant organisations to support them through this registration process.
Details of the registered One Stop Shops, including their contact numbers, are available on the SEAI website. A guide to advise homeowners through the various steps to completing a whole house upgrade under the One Stop Shop Service is also available on the SEAI website. The other schemes operated by SEAI are also available for applications.
I am confident that the higher grant levels, in tandem with the scaling up of the infrastructure to support a much larger level of retrofit activity, will deliver very positive results for consumers, the overall economy and society in general .
