305. Deputy James O'Connor asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the current position regarding the timeline for the installation of solar panels for the medically vulnerable under the SEAI medically vulnerable (MV) solar PV scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39634/26]

313. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment if he will allow individuals who wish to avail of the solar PV for medically vulnerable scheme, to get a grant which can be used towards the cost of a solar PV system from any solar installer; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40113/26]

I propose to take Questions Nos. 305 and 313 together.

The Solar PV for the Medically Vulnerable Scheme is a targeted scheme for the installation of solar photovoltaic (PV) panels for customers/households who are registered on the life support category of the Priority Services Register. These homes have a dependence on electrically powered equipment, including medical equipment, life protecting devices and assistive technologies such as dialysis machines and respirators. As such, these households may have a higher energy demand than the average user and this scheme is designed to go some way towards helping to reduce those energy costs.

The scheme is operated by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) in conjunction with energy suppliers, with each energy supplier contacting their own eligible customers directly in line with their work plans for their solar PV installers. Eligible households can avail of a fully funded 2kWp solar PV system including survey/design, supply, installation, and the post works BER.

It is important to note that suppliers, who manage the administrative aspects of the scheme under the SEAI, issue offers to eligible homeowners in batches. Each of the energy suppliers is responsible for contacting their own eligible customers directly, in line with the work plans for their solar PV installers. Each participating supplier receives an allocated amount of funding under their Memorandum of Understanding with the SEAI and contacts eligible households in batches, based on operational capacity. Once the initial allocation is used, additional funding will be provided to ensure all those eligible are offered access to the scheme within the budget allocation.

Due to the strong uptake, eligibility for the scheme was extended in November 2025 to include all homeowners who are registered under the life support category of the Priority Services Register with their energy supplier, regardless of when they were registered, as long the house is built and occupied on or before 31 December 2020. Over 470 systems were installed last year with expenditure of €2.4 million. This year will see a major expansion of delivery with an allocation of €11.7 million to support over 1,900 homes.

The National Energy Affordability Taskforce was formed to identify, assess and implement measures to enhance energy affordability for households. The Taskforce is now leading the response to the energy shock, and the immediate associated energy affordability challenge. This work includes examining how to support increased uptake of home energy efficiency upgrades and continued development of the SEAI retrofit schemes in line with commitments in the Programme for Government.