Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 12 December 2023
133. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the total funding drawn down as part of the better energy warmer homes scheme in 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54966/23]
Amharc ar fhreagra134. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the estimated total cost to increase the capital funding for better energy warmer homes scheme by 50%. [54967/23]
Amharc ar fhreagra135. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the total funding allocated to the better energy warmer homes scheme in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and in Budget 2024, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54968/23]
Amharc ar fhreagra136. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the total funding allocated to the better energy warmer homes scheme in Budget 2024, as per the revised estimates. [54969/23]
Amharc ar fhreagra166. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the funding allocated to sustainable energy communities in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and in Budget 2024, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55033/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 133 to 136, inclusive, and 166 together.
The Better Energy Warmer Homes Scheme delivers a range of energy efficiency measures free of charge to low-income households vulnerable to energy poverty. The budget allocation for the Scheme this year is €148.5 million (full details of the annual capital allocations and expenditure under the Scheme since 2020 are provided in the table below). Based on this year's allocation, a 50% increase in capital funding for the Scheme would cost €74.25 million, bringing the total cost to €222.75 million.
Increased awareness of the multiple benefits of retrofit and improvements to the Warmer Homes Scheme are driving increased levels of demand for the scheme and consequently increased spend on the Scheme. It should also be noted that the scheme has been delivering a greater volume of deeper and more complex upgrades in recent years. This is reflected in the average cost of upgrades which have increased from €2,600 in 2015 to €24,000 in 2023.
In the period since 2020 to date in 2023 almost 13,300 households have been supported under the Scheme. Of these, over 5,300 homes have been upgraded this year to end-November. The scheme is working towards upgrading 6,000 homes by the end of the year. My officials continue to work with the SEAI to maximise and accelerate output of free energy upgrades.
Detail of the capital funding allocation and capital funding expenditure under the Better Energy Warmer Homes Scheme for the period 2020-2023 is set out in the table below. It is important to note that expenditure in respect of the calendar years 2020 and 2021 was significantly impacted by restrictions arising from the Covid-19 pandemic.
|
Allocation |
Expenditure |
|
|
2023 |
€148.5m |
€133.3 (YTD) |
|
2022 |
€109m |
€92.7m |
|
2021 |
€100m |
€38.086m |
|
2020 |
€52.8m |
€23.394m |
The Sustainable Energy Communities (SEC) Programme supports the low carbon energy transition by developing skills and capacity, at a community level, in determining how to use less energy, adopting lower carbon options for transport and heating, shifting energy use to off-peak times or investing in smart technologies.
The SEC process consists of 3 core steps of "Learn" (the SEC Network), "Plan" (the Energy Master Plan Partnership) and "Do". Under this latter stage, the SECs access the various SEAI energy efficiency grants, notably the Community Energy Grant Scheme, to help them progress their identified projects.
The National Retrofit Plan sets a target of 1,500 member communities in the SEC Network by 2030. Under the Plan, SECs will be supported by Government to continue to expand their roles as ‘activators’ in their communities. Most recent figures from SEAI show there are 815 SEC members in the network and 108 new SECs have been established so far this year, exceeding the target of 100.
For the years 2020 and 2021 the SEC Programme was funded from within the Better Energy Communities Scheme budget. In 2022 and 2023 SECs were funded from within the Community Activation Fund budget.
Detail of the capital funding allocation and capital funding expenditure for the Sustainable Energy Communities (SEC) Programme/Community Activation Fund for the period 2020-2023 is set out in the table below.
|
Expenditure |
|
|
2023 |
€1.89m (YTD) |
|
2022 |
€2.2m |
|
2021 |
€1.34m |
|
2020 |
€1.21m |
The funding allocations to each SEAI scheme are currently being finalised as part of the preparation of the Revised Estimates Volume for 2024 (REV 2024), determining the European Regional Development Plan allocation for 2024 and the 2024 SEAI business planning process.
