Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 14 July 2022
221. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the status of the engagements regarding the interest rates under the retrofitting loan guarantee scheme due to be decided in the coming months; the timeline for decision on interest rates; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39476/22]
View answerThe Climate Action Plan and National Retrofit Plan have set ambitious targets to retrofit 500,000 homes to a Building Energy Rating of B2 or carbon equivalent and to install 400,000 heat pumps in existing buildings by the end of 2030. My Department is engaging with the Department of Finance, the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland, the Sustainable Energy Authority Ireland and the European Investment Bank in relation to the development of a residential retrofit loan guarantee scheme. The residential retrofit loan guarantee scheme is part of Ireland’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan and will be co-funded by the EU Recovery and Resilience Facility and Exchequer funding. The scheme is still under development and market engagement is on-going. The Invitation for Pre-Qualification stage to identify interested On-Lenders has now concluded. This is an important milestone in the development of the scheme. The Invitation for Allocation stage, planned for Q3 2022, will determine how much of the guaranteed loan portfolio will be allocated to each On-Lender. The Invitation for Allocation will set out the interest rate pricing approach under the scheme. The aim is to make the loans under the guarantee available in Q4 2022.
The loan guarantee will provide risk protection to retail credit institutions participating in the scheme. This 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 more affordable to consumers. This approach will signal to the banking sector, new sustainable business opportunities associated with retrofit and the transition to a low carbon economy as well as increasing the volume of retrofit activity within the State.
