Paul Murphy
Question:104. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if an application for the warmer home scheme with SEAI can be expedited (details supplied). [44890/23]
View answerTuesday, 17 October 2023
Questions (104)
Written answers
The Better Energy Warmer Homes Scheme delivers a range of energy efficiency measures free of charge to low-income households vulnerable to energy poverty. Demand for the Scheme is very high with almost 20,000 applications received over the period from January 2022 to end August 2023.
The Scheme is delivering deeper and more complex upgrades in recent years, with the average cost of upgrades increasing to €24,000 in 2023. While more significant works deliver enhanced upgrades for homeowners, they do take a longer time per home to complete. The Scheme was also impacted significantly by COVID-19 causing a backlog.
I and my Department have worked with SEAI to increase output and reduce waiting times. The average waiting time from application to completion in Q2 2023 was approximately 19 months, a decrease from 26 months in 2022. The following actions were taken in order to reduce waiting times:
• increased SEAI staff for the scheme;
• increased budget allocation allocations year on year, €148.5 million this year;
• contractor, supply chain and inflation management and mitigation.
Importantly, a new contractor panel for the scheme was established earlier this month with expanded capacity. It is intended that the panel will be in place for 4 years, with an estimated contract value of €700 million, which is a very strong signal of commitment.