Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 17 January 2024
58. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the number of retrofits carried out in 2020, 2021, 2022 and to date in 2023, broken down by scheme and by pre to post-BER ratings, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56315/23]
View answer59. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the average energy uplift as part of the warmer homes scheme in 2020, 2021, 2022 and to date in 2023, broken down by county, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56316/23]
View answer60. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the average energy uplift per SEAI scheme in 2020, 2021, 2022 and to date in 2023, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56317/23]
View answer72. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the number of retrofits completed broken down, by SEAI scheme and the pre-BER, post-BER of completed projects in 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56578/23]
View answer92. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the number of homes upgraded to BER B2 under SEAI retrofitting in 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57063/23]
View answer93. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the number of heat pumps installed on an annual basis in 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57064/23]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 58 to 60, inclusive, 72, 92 and 93 together.
The Climate Action Plan and National Retrofit Plan set ambitious targets to retrofit the equivalent of 500,000 homes to a Building Energy Rating (BER) of B2/cost optimal and the installation of 400,000 heat pumps in existing homes to replace older, less efficient heating systems by end-2030.
To promote and incentivise the achievement of these targets, in 2022, the Government launched a package of supports to make it easier and more affordable for homeowners to undertake home energy upgrades, for warmer, healthier and more comfortable homes, with lower energy bills.
Since then demand across the SEAI grant supported schemes has been exceptionally high with indicative figures from SEAI showing that in 2023:
• A total of 47,952 home energy upgrades were supported. This represents a 76% increase in outputs year on year.
• Of this amount, 17,599 homes achieved a B2 Building Energy Rating. This represents an 107% increase on B2 upgrades supported in 2022.
• Under the Better Energy Warmer Homes Scheme 5,897 free upgrades for energy poor homes were delivered. This represents an 33% increase in free upgrades provided versus 2022.
• Final capital spend in 2023 for Subhead B4 was €324.5m, this compares to 2022 expenditure of €192.4m equating to a year-on-year increase of 68%
• 18 OSSs are now registered.
• In addition, 67,411 applications for grant support were received by SEAI equating to a 34% increase on 2022 levels. This indicates a strong pipeline of works for 2024.
It should be noted that in line with the respective terms and conditions of the various SEAI energy efficiency schemes, not all homeowners are not required to have a pre-works Building Energy Rating (BER) to qualify for grant support:
• Better Energy Homes and Solar PV Schemes: homeowners are not required to have a pre-works Building Energy Rating (BER) to qualify for grant support, and for this reason data on the average energy uplift is not available for homes upgraded under these schemes.
• Better Energy Warmer Homes Scheme: Pre-works BER data is only available from 2023.
• National Home Energy Upgrade Scheme and Community Energy Grant Scheme: A pre-works BER is required for all homes.
Regarding the requested information on the average energy uplift for properties upgraded under the SEAI energy efficiency schemes:
• Better Energy Warmer Homes Scheme: the average energy uplift in 2023 was E2 to C3.
• National Home Energy Upgrade Scheme (including pilots): the average energy uplift in 2023 was D2 to A3, and in 2022 it was from D1 to A3.
• Community Energy Grants scheme: the average energy uplift in 2023 was D2 to A2, and in 2022 it was from D2 to A3.
The remainder of the requested data can be found detailed in the tables attached provided by SEAI.
The SEAI Quarterly Progress Report for Quarter 3, 2023 can be found at: www.seai.ie/publications/SEAI-Retrofit-Quarterly-Report-Q3-2023.pdf. The Q4 report will follow shortly.
