Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 31 January 2023
182. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if there is a way whereby shallow retrofits for the worst-performing homes could be fast-tracked through the system with a possibility of a fuller upgrade. [4352/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Climate Action Plan commits to reduce emissions from the residential sector by retrofitting the equivalent of 500,000 homes to a building energy rating (BER) of B2/cost optimal and installing 400,000 heat pumps in existing homes to replace older, less efficient heating systems by the end of 2030.
The National Retrofit Plan sets out the Government's approach for achieving these targets. The Plan is underpinned by a number of principles including fairness and universality and as such, there is a need to ensure that all housing types and consumer cohorts can participate.
This was reflected in the package of supports launched by Government last February to make it easier and more affordable for homeowners to undertake home energy upgrades.
The key measures include:
- A new National Home Energy Upgrade Scheme providing increased grant levels of up to 50% (of the cost of a typical deep retrofit to a B2 BER standard.
- Increased grants for households seeking support to retrofit their homes on a step-by-step basis. This included a special enhanced grant rate, equivalent to 80% of the typical cost, for attic and cavity wall insulation for all households, to urgently reduce energy use as part of the government’s response to current exceptionally high energy prices. These shallow measures are highly cost effective.
- Significantly increasing the number of free energy upgrades for those at risk of energy poverty and a new approach to prioritise the worst performing homes under the scheme.
Since the launch of these measures, demand for SEAI schemes has been exceptionally strong. Preliminary data from SEAI indicates that over 27,700 home energy upgrades were supported in 2022, exceeding the target of 26,940. This represents a 79% increase in outputs year on year. Final details on the outputs, including across the schemes, will be available shortly. A target of 37,000 upgrades has been set for this year.
