Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 4 December 2025
169. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the respective number of approvals and drawdowns for the home energy upgrade scheme loan, by county, to date in 2025, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [68553/25]
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 at significantly lower rates, starting from 2.99% (pricing varies 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, Avant Money (in partnership with An Post Money) launched under the scheme in February, and seven credit unions from the Irish League of Credit Unions began offering loans in April.
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 HEULS.
Loan applications are processed, validated and approved by the participating finance providers. Only loans that have been drawn down under the scheme are uploaded by the finance providers to the SBCI's reporting system. The numbers of loans drawn down are reported by SBCI to the Department on a quarterly basis. As at the end of September 2025, there were 776 loans drawn to a value of €38.3 million.
The Deputy may wish to note that as drawdown figures in certain counties mean that it could be possible to identify individual homeowners, county figures have not been disclosed. Instead, drawdown figures by region to end September 2025 are provided in the attached table.
