Fuel Poverty

10. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment if he aware of cases whereby people eligible for fuel poverty supports including the better energy warmer homes scheme go through the lengthy application process and are ultimately, on decision, only deemed eligible for minimal upgrading works due building regulations requiring a heating system that they do not have. [65809/26]

17. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Climate; Energy and the Environment if he is aware of anomalies with the better energy warmer homes scheme whereby people who are experiencing energy poverty and are eligible for upgrades, cannot get works done on their house due to current building regulations and heat loss issues. [65826/26]

The Minister will have heard me raise this issue in the past. It relates to the better energy warmer homes scheme. The Government has taken significant steps to increase the number of people eligible for the fuel allowance. However, there will be people this winter who do not have a heating system in their home and have no mechanism to gain one because of recent EU regulations in regard to stand-alone fossil fuel boilers.

I propose to take Questions Nos. 10 and 17 together. 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 to households in receipt of certain Department of Social Protection income supports. I am pleased to say delivery under the scheme has ramped up hugely in recent years. Just over 3,000 homes were upgraded in 2019, compared with 8,100 last year, or 109% of what we had targeted. Between 2019 and August of this year, we did 39,500 fully funded upgrades for households at risk of energy poverty. Budget 2026 provided €340 million for warmer homes, with a target to complete 11,500 homes this year. We must also remember the scheme has developed over time and it is delivering deeper upgrades that take longer to complete. The average cost per home under the scheme in the first half of 2026 was €28,500. It is a significant investment, and rightly so. In addition, under the national retrofit plan, a new, higher fixed-amount grant for attic insulation and cavity wall insulation was introduced for homeowners who are qualifying social protection payment recipients. That allows qualifying homeowners at risk of energy poverty to get these works done using SEAI-registered grant contractors on a shorter timeline. Eligible applicants can keep their place on the warmers homes scheme list. That is a change the Deputy looked for, which we were happy to make. The success of the scheme has meant a serious increase in applications, with over 10,800 this year, up 52% on last year. A waiting list action plan is being developed. I met the SEAI only last week about this. The SEAI is also engaging with contractors to increase their output. Under the warmer homes scheme, upgrades recommended by the SEAI technical surveyor will depend on many factors including age, size and the type and condition of the property. Heating system upgrades, which the Deputy specifically asked about, can be recommended under the scheme in certain cases where the home is being insulated under the scheme and statutory major renovation obligations are triggered. Where more than 25% of the area of the walls is being externally or internally insulated, the existing heating system must be appraised for replacement. People with existing boilers, because of EU regulations in place in Ireland under the energy performance of buildings directive, cannot receive a grant to replace it with another fossil fuel boiler. I am looking at measures on that in advance of the budget. The warmer homes scheme is great and we are seeing turnaround times between application and completion of works reduce. I will have an update on that in the next couple of weeks. The number of homes done through the scheme has increased year on year. It will be close to 11,500 this year. I do not have the projections for the end of the year but it will be an increase on last year. On what we can do to help people with boilers that are coming to end of life, I am working on that in advance of the budget.

I appreciate that. The Minister is correct that the warmer homes scheme is hugely popular. That and the increase in the fuel allowance are exactly the kind of ring-fenced funding that carbon tax provides. The difficulty is that people who are heading into this winter have either no central heating system, no back boiler system or a broken gas boiler and they cannot get the warmer homes grant because they have no boiler to register the heat loss indicator. They used to be able to get the local council grant but that is gone. As a last resort, I was able to send them to the Department of Social Protection for an emergency payment, but the Department is now saying it will not fund it either. I am aware of people heading into a second winter with no heating system and no way of getting it who also cannot get the warmer homes grant. There is clearly a regulatory gap. It is not an issue of funding but there is a problem whereby people just do not have the €2,500 or €3,000 to get a boiler and they cannot get the warmer homes scheme or any sort of support so they will have no heating this year. That is clearly not Government policy.

I agree with the Deputy. I mentioned in my first response that I am looking at this very issue right now in advance of the budget. I announced earlier this year that we would trial high-temperature heat pumps, plug-in heat pumps, which I think will be an option. A pilot of about 100 homes is ongoing. I think a number are in the Deputy's constituency. We will get the data from that. It could be a very good near-term solution. We will get the data by the end of the year or early next year. Should the data stack up, it provides us with an opportunity to roll this out at scale. It has the potential to be a really good option. I am also looking at other measures in advance of the budget, which I discussed only last week with Cabinet colleagues, the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste in budget preparation, looking in particular at that cohort with end-of-life boilers, where the boilers either are gone or are about to go, and what we can do in that space. The high-temperature heat pump has real potential but we are in the middle of that pilot right now. I met the European Heat Pump Association last week, something I would not often say. We had a good meeting looking at what is being done across Europe. There are some interesting examples, in particular in relation to high-temperature heat pumps. I am focusing on this because it could make a significant difference for many households if the data stacks up that it would work without a major retrofit on top. That is something we want to ensure we can do. I will keep the Deputy in the loop and come back to him specifically on this issue. I am aware of the cases he has raised with me where people in this bind cannot afford to replace the boiler and are going into their second winter post the European buildings directive, which precludes local authorities from providing grants. I know that some people are trying to see if they can buy a second-hand boiler but that is not sustainable either. I will keep the Deputy in the loop.

I thank the Minister for acknowledging the issue. I have even raised this issue with Michael McGrath, the European Commissioner, because it is a good example of how something intended to have a positive contribution to our environment goals is having a negative impact. These kinds of things undermine confidence in the EU because they are a silly application of something. The problem is the technology does not exist. There is no gap between a €2,500 gas boiler and a €30,000 or €40,000 electric heat pump. The new pilots are welcome. There is a balance with regard to Exchequer funding as well. I accept that. The SEAI has met me. It has been proactive. It has had the pilot scheme, which was implemented in a number of cases I brought to the SEAI, where compassion was needed. However, we need to put in place a permanent scheme. I welcome what the Minister said about the budget. The scheme needs to be easy to use. A lot of these people are older people who do not understand all the mechanisms of different grant schemes. I appreciate the Minister's support because there are people who really need it.

We will conclude our work on this over the course of the next couple of weeks. There will be a lead-in period. If I am able to get approval to do something specific in this space, I will see it implemented in January. I recognise the costs. We doubled the existing heat pump grants to €12,500. They are significant, but for lower income families, can we go that bit further and just cover the heat pumps? It involves labour costs and installation. The grant covers a significant amount of the cost of the equipment. Where the plug-in heat pump has real potential is that it reduces the need for a lot of other work, such as radiator replacement and that type of thing, which sometimes puts people off doing the work. However, I expect to be able to make announcements in the coming weeks. If I get approval, there will be a lead-in period. I just wanted to say that. If I get it, I would love to bring it in in January of next year.

Should I have a word with Jack Chambers?

You certainly can. All interventions are gratefully received.