Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 27 November 2025
188. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment to provide an uptake on the low interest retrofit loan scheme, by county, each month the loan has been in operation, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [66846/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Home Energy Upgrade Loan Scheme (HEULS), which launched in April 2024, is intended to play a crucial role in helping homeowners invest in energy upgrades to make their homes warmer, healthier and more comfortable, with lower emissions and lower bills. It was developed by my Department, in conjunction with the Department of Finance, the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI), the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) and the European Investment Bank Group.
The scheme is available nationwide and homeowners can borrow from €5,000 to €75,000 on an unsecured basis for a term of up to 10 years at significantly lower interest rates to those currently on the market. Rates start from as low as 2.99% with price varying depending on the finance provider. PTSB was the first lender to join in April 2024, with AIB and Bank of Ireland joining in June 2024. In 2025 the group of participating lenders has been expanded to include Avant Money (in partnership with An Post) and seven credit unions from the Irish League of Credit Unions.
In line with the Programme for Government, in addition to expanding the number of lenders under the scheme, a key focus of my Department across 2025 has been the continued promotion of the Scheme to drive uptake. The Department has engaged with the SEAI, the SBCI and several lenders to examine and identify opportunities to further promote the scheme. This also includes the progression of a marketing and communications campaign to scale up activity in the Home Energy Upgrade Loan Scheme.
Cumulative figures for loan uptake are provided below. At the end of September 2025, there were 776 loans drawn to a value of €38,258,801. As only one lender was operating under the scheme for the majority of Quarter 2 2024, the uptake figures for Quarter 2 are not reported separately due to commercial sensitivity.
The SBCI provide a regional breakdown of loan uptake on a quarterly basis. The Deputy may wish to note that as uptake figures in certain counties mean that it could be possible to identify individual homeowners, county figures have not been disclosed. Instead, uptake figures by region are provided in the following table.
Cumulative figures are as follows:
|
Region |
Q2 2024+ Q3 3034 |
Q4 2024 |
Q1 2025 |
Q2 2025 |
Q3 2025 |
|
Border |
11 |
21 |
40 |
75 |
115 |
|
Dublin |
40 |
76 |
114 |
170 |
225 |
|
Mid-East |
19 |
34 |
55 |
76 |
94 |
|
Midlands |
7 |
12 |
13 |
18 |
26 |
|
Mid-West |
12 |
27 |
44 |
61 |
75 |
|
South-East |
8 |
19 |
27 |
39 |
51 |
|
South-West |
27 |
49 |
66 |
82 |
111 |
|
West |
13 |
30 |
40 |
59 |
79 |
|
Total |
137 |
268 |
399 |
580 |
776 |
