Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 25 January 2024
133. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if he will provide more resources to ensure that the warmer homes scheme is delivered in a timely manner; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2962/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Better Energy Warmer Homes Scheme delivers a range of energy efficiency measures free of charge to households vulnerable to energy poverty.
Increased awareness of the multiple benefits of retrofit and improvements to the Warmer Homes Scheme is driving increased levels of demand for the scheme with over 24,000 applications received over the period from January 2022 to end December 2023.
The Scheme is delivering deeper upgrades with more emissions reductions and energy savings for homeowners. The average cost of upgrades increased to €24,000 in 2023 and these deeper upgrades take a longer time per home to complete.
In 2023, almost 5,900 homes were upgraded under the scheme. This represents a 33% increase in fully funded upgrades provided in 2022.
The overall spend for 2023 was €157.421 million, which was the highest spend ever under the scheme. For 2024 a record budget of just under €210 million has been allocated to the scheme. This budget is supplemented by funding from the European Regional Development Fund.
The average waiting time from application to completion in 2023 was just under 20 months. This is a decrease from an average of 26 months for homes completed in 2022. The reduction in wait times follows a range of measures introduced by the Department and SEAI including enhanced budgets; increased staffing resources in SEAI; and actions to address supply chain challenges. SEAI also established a new contractor panel in September 2023, adding 7 additional contractors bringing the total to 36.
My officials continue to work with the SEAI to maximise and accelerate the output of free energy upgrades delivered.
