Supports offered to householders in Ireland to retrofit their homes are the best in Europe, the Environment Minister has insisted.
Eamon Ryan said the offering was “really working” as he highlighted that more than 63,000 applications for energy upgrades have been made for 2024 already.
A new low-cost loan scheme will come online in February.
It is partly designed to help those seeking access to Government grants to undertake major retrofitting projects.
Grants for full upgrades only cover 50% of the cost of the works, so are difficult to access for those without the cash to pay for the other half of the retrofit.
The loans are being provided with support from the European Investment Bank.
Homeowners can borrow between 5,000 and 75,000 euros over a 10-year basis.
Mr Ryan said the loan rates would be between 3-4%.
“Roughly 2% is Government support bringing it down and roughly one-and-a-half per cent is the guarantee system we have in place with the European Investment Bank,” he told reporters at his end of year media briefing.
“So the two together are seeing loan rates of that sort of rate which is really welcome.
“It will be launched in February in terms of loans to be drawn down. Up to 75,000 euro up to 10-year term.”
The loans are designed for use for full upgrades, rather than specific investments, such as solar panels.
Mr Ryan described them as a “game changer”.
“It basically allows people access to the grants who currently can’t because they don’t have the cash. There’s a disadvantage there,” he said.
“Those rates are really good. Three per cent – we were very pleased.”
The Government has a target of having 500,000 homes upgraded to the second highest energy efficiency rate – B2 Building Energy Rating (BER) – by 2030.
Asked why the loans were only available to those doing big retrofit works, he responded: “We do want big. The big job is the right thing to do.
“Going into the house several times is disruptive but also there are real efficiencies and cost gains.
“It’s also working. I got figures yesterday from the SEAI (Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland). This year we’re looking at 46,390 upgrades – about 16,000 of them were up to B2.
“And the order books for next year are full. There are 63,000 energy upgrade applications in, so the next year is looking better again.
“So it is really working. The PV (electricity generated from solar energy) is taking off. We have about a gigawatt of PV whereas two years ago we had nothing.
“About 400 of that is on people’s homes and businesses; about 600 is solar farms in the field.”
Mr Ryan said the Government’s new climate fund would be used to offer further supports to businesses.
“There will be two targeted areas,” he added.
“One is to keep this whole solar revolution going but secondly to get businesses to switch to heat pumps to any low grade heat – anything under 140 degrees in temperature.
“A lot of like the dairy industry or the others who might use it for drying. Steam cleaning or other industrial uses – we see that switching to heat pumps.
“So I think that is going to be another use of the climate fund is to support businesses making this transition.
“But for the domestic, we think we have the best retrofitting proposal in Europe. Most other countries are looking at us saying ‘wow, that’s really working’ – and it really is working.”
