Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 14 February 2024
71. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications what his plans are to reduce the average two-year waiting time for the free energy upgrades (warmer homes) scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6795/24]
View answerThe Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) operates the Warmer Homes Scheme on behalf of my Department. Delivering free energy upgrades to low-income households and reducing the waiting times for the Warmer Homes Scheme is a top priority for my Department and the SEAI. My officials continue to work with the SEAI to maximise and accelerate the output of free energy upgrades provided under this important scheme.
In recent years, the Warmer Homes Scheme has delivered a greater volume of deeper and more complex upgrades. This is reflected in the average cost of upgrades which have seen an almost tenfold increase from €2,600 in 2015 to just approximately €24,000 in 2023.
These deeper upgrades mean that more lower income homeowners are benefitting significantly from warmer, healthier and more comfortable homes, with lower energy bills and reduced emissions. However, it is important to acknowledge that deeper retrofits take longer to complete.
This improvement in the upgrades provided under the scheme in tandem with increased awareness of the multiple benefits of retrofit are driving significantly increased levels of demand. Approximately 24,000 applications from homeowners were received in 2022 and 2023 combined.
At the same time, significantly increased budget allocations from Government have seen output and expenditure increase under the scheme, from 2,242 homes and a spend of €38.1million in 2021 to 5,897 homes and a record spend of €158 million last year.
For the homes completed in 2023, the average waiting time from application to completion was 20 months. This is a reduction from 26 months for homes completed in 2022.
A range of measures introduced by my Department and SEAI contributed to the reduction in waiting times, including:
• significantly increased budgets and budget certainty with an allocation of almost €210 million in place for 2024;
• increased staffing resources in SEAI; and
• actions to address supply chain challenges.
SEAI also established a new contractor panel in September 2023, which increased the number of contractors operating under the scheme.
