2026-02-24

151. Deputy Cathy Bennett asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment if he will provide an update in relation to SEAI grants for windows and doors; the length of time the grant will open for; if applicants have to pay upfront; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14361/26]

157. Deputy Naoise Ó Cearúil asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the way in which the redesigned SEAI grant structure will support homeowners in progressing from initial insulation measures to more advanced upgrades; the way this sequencing is expected to improve overall retrofit outcomes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14769/26]

Will the Minister provide an update on SEAI grants, the length of time applicants will have to apply for these grants and how the scheme will work up terms in relation to upfront payments and reimbursement?

I propose to take Questions Nos. 151 and 157 together. We have a few questions on the SEAI grants, which we have revised to make them more accessible for families. More than 244,000 homes across the country have been retrofitted. We have invested approximately €1.7 billion in retrofitting to deliver permanent savings for households, to reduce emissions and energy use and to make homes warmer, safer and healthier. The national retrofitting plan, along with the new and enhanced set of measures I have mentioned, will continue to make home energy upgrades more accessible and affordable. That is the main reason we are breaking up those grants. We are going to protect the warmer homes scheme, which provides 100% grants. We have done approximately 32,700 homes in that space. We are targeting more than 11,000 this year. Further work needs to be done on the lead times from date of application to completion of work. I have met the SEAI on that too. Homeowners availing of the other grants we offer can take a step-by-step approach. Even if someone is waiting for the warmer homes scheme, they can apply for grants in the interim. They can apply for attic insulation, wall insulation and start to break the grants down. I want to see more people accessing it. I recognise that costs have increased since 2022. That is why we have upped the grant limits. We have upped the grant levels for cavity wall insulation and attic insulation. These higher fixed grants will substantially reduce costs for homeowners. To help first-time buyers of existing homes to get on the energy upgrade journey quickly and at minimal cost, I have brought forward a specific grant for attic insulation for these new homeowners. This will support first-time buyers who purchase an existing property and who might not be in a financial position to undertake a complete energy upgrade. The new heat pump system grant will reduce the costs associated with a whole house heating system upgrade and accelerate the uptake of heat pumps. A fixed amount grant for installing a heat pump system will be introduced. This grant is significant. It is €6,500 for the heat pump, €2,000 towards the radiator upgrades and pipework and a new renewable heating bonus of €4,000. That brings the maximum grant up to €12,500. That will also apply to applications already in train and not already paid out. For the first time, homeowners can access a windows and doors grant as an individual measure for the installation of energy-efficient windows and doors to replace older ones that are performing poorly. That is for homes where the building fabric will meet, or already meets, a specified minimum performance standard. Many homes already meet this standard. We estimate that approximately 200,000 homeowners can apply right now for windows and doors grants of approximately €4,600. That is €800 per door and €3,000 for windows. They are significant amounts. The measure is designed to help homeowners to improve comfort and energy efficiency, while ensuring homes meet the building fabric standard suitable for our climate action targets. I have been advised by the SEAI that the register of windows and doors contractors has now been published on its site. There are 104 contractors registered as of last week. When applying for individual measures, homeowners will now have the option of applying themselves and having the grant refunded once works are complete, or applying themselves and having the grant paid to the bank account of their contractor, who can choose to offer them a discount upfront. They can basically charge net, and they will claim it back. They can also apply through a participating one-stop shop or energy partner, which will carry out the works for the homeowners and pass on the grant savings as a discount on the works. All of that is now up on the SEAI website.

I thank the Minister. He has basically answered the next questions I had for him. I am delighted that the grants will be upfront, and people will not have to provide the money. That is what he said. That is correct. There will also be no loans required. People will not require a loan in order to get the grant. It will be paid upfront, and people can go to get their windows or doors, or whatever retrofitting is required. Is that correct?

There are options there. For some people this had operated already. They can apply for themselves and have the grant refunded once the works are completed. They can apply themselves and have the grant paid to the contractor and have that net option. There are low-interest loans available as well. If someone wants to go for a deeper retrofit and to do more work above and beyond, they can apply for that also. What we will endeavour to do with this round of changes to the grants is break them up. Before, for argument's sake, to get windows and doors you would have had to do a whole house upgrade. Even though the grants were good, you would have had to put substantial money towards it yourself. Many families do not have that, or that may not be a priority for them. Importantly within this, once you get this work done, your bills come down permanently. Your home is warmer, healthier and climate friendly too. All of those options are now on the SEAI website. I have also circulated a draft newsletter, and we have done a briefing with Members that was well attended by Government and Opposition last week.

I thank the Minister and welcome it. If you require the State-backed loans, are these available to everybody in rural Ireland and has rural Ireland applied for these grants in large numbers before? Another issue I have is of a household that had received a SEAI grant previously for cavity bead insulation 30 years ago. Are people like this allowed to go again and reapply for the new upgrades?

You can go in. If you have already received one grant for one cavity wall, you can go in for a second one. If you did not get window grants before, you can go back in for them as well, so you are not precluded. The low-interest loan is available in both urban and rural Ireland. It is available across all 26 counties of the Republic. I do not have the breakdown per county, but we could certainly get that information for the Deputy as best as we have it.