Dáil Éireann Debate, Monday - 11 September 2023
75. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the number of homes upgraded to BER B2 under SEAI retrofitting schemes to date in 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37277/23]
View answer76. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the number of heat pumps installed to date in 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37278/23]
View answer195. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the number of homes upgraded to BER B2 under SEAI retrofitting schemes to date in 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39345/23]
View answer196. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the number of heat pumps installed to date in 2023 in existing homes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39346/23]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 75, 76, 195 and 196 together.
The National Retrofit Plan sets out the Government's approach to achieving the Climate Action Plan targets of upgrading the equivalent of 500,000 homes to a Building Energy Rating (BER) of B2/cost optimal level and installing 400,000 heat pumps to replace older, less efficient heating systems by 2030.
My Department funds a number of schemes to support households to improve the energy efficiency of their properties. SEAI administer these schemes on behalf of my Department. To promote and incentivise the achievement of these targets, in February 2022, the Government launched a package of significantly enhanced supports to make it easier and more affordable for homeowners to undertake home energy upgrades.
Since the introduction of the new measures, demand for the SEAI Schemes has been exceptionally high. Last year saw 27,200 home energy upgrades. This represents a 79% increase on 2021 levels.
A record €356 million in funding has been allocated to SEAI for residential and community retrofit, including Solar PV, for 2023 to support the delivery of 37,000 home energy upgrades this year.
Figures to end of August 2023 show:
• Almost 30,000 home energy upgrades have been supported so far this year (up 124% on August 2022);
• Over 10,600 BER B2 upgrades completed (up 178% on August 2022);
• Almost 3,500 fully funded energy upgrades for low-income households (up 27% on August 2022);
• 2,435 Heat Pump installations (up 84% on August 2022)
• SEAI has published quarterly reports for the first two quarters of 2023 which are available on their website and provide more detail in relation to the retrofits carried out under SEAI schemes in the first half of the year. A report for the third quarter will be published in October.
