2025-12-18

107. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment if he or his Department plan to make changes to the warmer homes scheme to allow alternative sources of home heating for older homes that require extensive home energy upgrading work and whereby a heat pump might not be suitable; if he plans to extend the scheme to allow for more targeted home energy upgrades whereby following a home energy upgrade inspection, the primary suggestion is only for home insulation as the current central heating system is obsolete; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [73206/25]

As the Minister of State will know, the better energy warmer homes scheme is an incredibly popular scheme. Now that the Government has expanded eligibility to fuel supplement recipients more and more people are availing of it. The Taoiseach said that 26% of homes are eligible for the fuel supplement. The changes earlier in the year to the European Commission's rulings on state funding of replacement of fossil fuel devices is having an impact on the better energy warmer homes scheme. It is time for the scheme to be reviewed to reflect that.

I thank the Deputy for the question and for his interest in this important area. The warmer homes scheme aims to improve the energy efficiency and warmth of homes owned by people at risk of energy poverty by providing fully-funded retrofits. The scheme is operated through the SEAI on behalf of the Department and is funded through the carbon tax receipts and the European Regional Development Fund. The scheme seeks to reduce the volume of energy a household needs by reducing heat loss through the installation of insulation and ventilation in the first instance, before moving to replacing heating systems where required under building regulations. This is in line with the fabric first and energy efficiency first principle and best practice. There are a number of home energy improvements offered as part of the scheme. The upgrades recommended for a particular property depend on many factors including age, size, type and the condition of the property. For each eligible home, the SEAI’s technical surveyor determines which upgrades can be installed and funded. The SEAI is currently piloting the installation of renewable technologies, including heat pumps, where major renovations are taking place under the scheme. These pilots are helping to assess the suitability of such technologies in the context of energy poverty and long-term value for money. The scope of upgrades under the scheme is kept under ongoing review and my Department continues to work closely with the SEAI to ensure we maximise the impact of resources available. The Government remains committed to ensuring that low-income households benefit from Ireland's renewable energy transition and we will continue to work with Deputies to explore how best to integrate other technologies into our energy poverty programmes.

I appreciate the response. The most important point the Minister of State made is that this is a fully funded scheme. Unlike the other grant schemes available to local authorities under which the responsibility falls on the individual owner to decide how they will replace their boiler, this is a fully funded scheme and it is up to the SEAI to provide the solution. There is difficulty, however, for a number of people I have been dealing with who previously would have been eligible for the full scheme with the wraparound and all the rest of it. Because of this issue with the boilers I am aware that in one case the household ended up getting four LED bulbs and a bit of attic insulation. The SEAI needs to get better at having a solution in place. The example I gave was a gentleman called Bill in Elm Mount. He spent a year waiting for that decision and he was incredibly disappointed. Another lady called Monica is 88 years of age. She was offered a heat pump under the pilot scheme but she really was not sure what a heat pump was and there was no real explanation of how she could be helped. The SEAI needs to get better at putting in place a solution and explaining it to people when it is offered.

I completely agree. The first principle of the SEAI warmer homes retrofit scheme is all about reducing bills, improving comfort for householders and ensuring that the vulnerable are part of and very much protected within Ireland's renewable energy transition. We have made significant progress on budgets. We increased the latest budget to record levels with over €230 million now under the warmer homes scheme. That has delivered 7,743 free upgrades. If we look at where we have come from, the average cost per household back in 2015 was €2,600 but it is over €29,000 today because we are tackling the worst performing homes first. To the Deputy's point, we are piloting the schemes in the ongoing review. More exploration is needed on how we integrate alternative technology for older homes to ensure those are protected.

The Minister of State is right that this scheme has transformed the scheme but because of that decision not to replace a gas boiler, a very expensive heat pump system is being put in place. That is fantastic for those who avail of this but that transforms the scheme itself and the cost of the scheme. It will mean that fewer people will have access to the scheme if those resources are used. There is a question to be asked: where the boiler is not replaced by SEAI, why they cannot just put in the insulation and leave the boiler as it is? People will be in a better and warmer home with the insulation going into their home and leaving the boiler as it is, or leave them to apply for it through a council grant or replacement parts. They are being excluded from the whole scheme because of the single issue of the boiler. I had a public meeting on this. SEAI provided us with their mentor, a fantastic guy who came out. There is a lot of interest in this scheme, in the solar grants and in all that is available. Given the changes to the European regulations around carbon fuels and the changes to the scheme, it just needs to be tweaked to make sure that a really positive scheme continues to be positive.

I appreciate the points raised by the Deputy and I will take them back to the Minister and the SEAI. The replacement of oil and gas boilers has been a challenge in that EU laws prohibit us to incentivise fossil fuel boilers from 2025. New boilers cannot be installed or supported through grant schemes. Replacement parts can be supported through local authorities for sure but the scheme itself is constricted on the basis of the fabric first principle, which relates to insulation, ventilation and then more complex technology. We will take the points back that the Deputy has raised today and try to fine tune them to meet the concerns of his constituents and the wider public.

I appreciate that.