Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 18 December 2025
151. Deputy Aindrias Moynihan asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment for consideration for SEAI individual grants for new heating systems be used in conjunction with the local authority older person grant due to the high cost of new heating systems; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [73070/25]
View answerMy Department funds a number of schemes administered by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) to support homeowners to improve the energy efficiency of their dwellings and switch to renewable heating systems. These include: individual energy upgrade grants under the Better Energy Homes Scheme; the National Home Energy Upgrade Scheme, which provides an end-to-end service through One Stop Shops; and the Community Energy Grant Scheme, which supports energy efficiency upgrades undertaken as part of a community project. There are also fully funded upgrades for qualifying households available under the Warmer Homes scheme.
SEAI domestic retrofit programmes are available to all households wishing to undertake energy upgrades where the programme criteria are met.
Grant supports under the part-funded schemes are available for installing heat pumps in place of fossil fuel heating systems and, in recent years, a range of measures have been brought forward to improve the affordability of heat pump installation and incentivise take-up for homeowners, including:
• enhanced grant rates of up to €10,500 for heat pumps when a B2 energy rating is achieved;
• a reduction in the VAT rate to 9% that applies to heat pumps;
• the Home Energy Upgrade Loan Scheme, launched last year with new lenders joining in 2025, is now enabling homeowners to avail of retrofit loans with interest rates as low as 2.99%;
• amending the construction rule for grant support for heat pumps to include homes built and occupied before 2021;
• two pilots aimed at informing approaches to increase the number of heat pumps installed;
• changes to the SEAI scheme rules to make the process of accessing heat pump grants easier for homeowners; and
• measures to expand the supply chain.
With regard to the fully funded Warmer Homes scheme, where a heating system upgrade is required as part of a major renovation, the SEAI will assess the suitability of the home for a heat pump, or other renewable heating technologies, which are compliant with the revised EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive.
The grant schemes provided by the SEAI are reviewed on a regular basis taking account of the overarching need to grow the home upgrade sector, as well as being informed by ongoing pilots such as the Traditional Homes Pilot and the Warmer Homes Heat Pump Pilot.
