Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 16 December 2025
183. Deputy Naoise Ó Cearúil asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment if he will publish an analysis comparing the emissions savings from a 20% biofuel blend in existing boilers versus deep retrofitting and heat pump installation. [71513/25]
View answerThe National Heat Study, published by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, considered a number of potential decarbonisation options for a wide range of dwellings and business premises. These included the use of liquid biofuels, as well as heat pumps and district heating networks. While the recommendation of the Heat Study is that heat pumps are the optimal decarbonisation path for heating systems, the heat study also recognised the potential role for sustainable bioenergy for buildings that require alternative routes to decarbonisation. This is being considered as part of a suite of measures to decarbonise heat.
The Programme for Government 2025 commits to targeting older homes still using oil to switch to renewable heating systems and to consider the use of sustainable biofuels to reduce emissions from existing home boilers where deep retrofits are not possible in the short term. These commitments are framing the work underway to finalise a Heat Policy Statement and prepare a Roadmap to Phase Out Fossil Fuel heating systems, which will jointly set out Ireland's overarching approach to decarbonising the heat sector.
My Department is also working on the introduction of the Renewable Heat Obligation (RHO). Under current proposals, the RHO will obligate suppliers of all fossil fuels used for heating purposes to ensure a proportion of the energy they supply is renewable. As such, all renewable fuels, including bioliquids used for heat that satisfy the sustainability criteria of the Renewable Energy Directive, will be considered eligible for certification under the scheme. Introduction of the RHO is a key objective for me, as Minister, with priority drafting of the Renewable Heat Obligation Bill 2025 now underway.
As part of the RHO development and design process, my Department completed two phases of analysis which included a full impact assessment on the scheme structure, considering critical factors, including the availability of renewable fuels to meet the obligation, the likely economic and social impact of the obligation, and resulting costs to end consumers. Detail in relation to each phase of analysis, including the full assessment carried out on potential obligation rates, is available on gov.ie at:
www.gov.ie/en/department-of-climate-energy-and-the-environment/publications/renewable-heat-obligation/#general-scheme-design
