10. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the supports his Department provides to help businesses reduce energy use; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30056/26]

My Department, through schemes administered by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, the SEAI, provides a wide range of supports to businesses which can assist in reducing their energy use and energy costs. In 2025, 3,963 businesses received funding totalling over €41m from my Department, including grant support for solar PV, heat pumps, insulation, commercial EV fleets, community projects. clean heat technology and highly efficient plant and devices.

As well as grant supports we support businesses through 'The Energy Academy', which has 35 modules available with over 12,700 active members – the Energy Academy issued over 1400 certificates in 2025.

The Large Industry Energy Network (LIEN) – an active network for expertise sharing among our largest energy users accounted for approx. 386 GWh saved across the network in 2025.

There has been a very strong uptake of grant supports provided to businesses through a variety of schemes and they are growing. The most recent data from the SEAI indicates that over 900 business received support in Q1 of 2026 alone, and the number of applications approved by the SEAI was up by 41% on last year. I have ensured that these schemes are fully funded to meet this level of demand and I have instructed the SEAI to consider what more can be done. The new ‘Easy Wins’ campaign, promoting the Business Energy Upgrade Scheme I launched last year, is live now and is working to drive uptake of rapid approval grants to businesses. Supports available include:

The Excellence in Energy Efficient Design (EXEED)Scheme - this provides tailored capital grants to support organisations (business and public sector) for projects which are following the EXEED Certified Standard for Excellence in Energy Efficient Design. SEAI will work with businesses to make their processes more efficient, with bespoke advice and grant funding for a huge range of highly energy efficient equipment. In 2025, the Excellence in Energy Efficient Design (EXEED) scheme completed 46 projects with an estimated saving of 7.1 ktCO2 and equating to €4.4m support provided.

The Support Scheme for Energy Audits (SSEA) - this provides support to fully cover the costs of a typical energy audit. The scheme enables businesses to rapidly identify energy saving measures, giving them a roadmap to save money, including no and low-cost steps that can be taken immediately. It is open to all public and private sector organisations that are not already required to carry out an energy audit under the Energy Efficiency Directive. In 2025 there were 1,550 Support Scheme for Energy Audits (SSEA) vouchers redeemed. This equates to 4m support provided to businesses.

The Business Energy Upgrades Scheme (BEUS) - this has been designed for greater accessibility to support small and medium enterprises in Ireland – it can give grant approval for a range of ‘off the shelf’ supports in as little as 15 minutes. This scheme is open to all businesses, public sectors bodies, societies and charities and has been growing rapidly since I launched it last year. In 2025,182 applications were approved with total offers in excess of €3.4million and a total number of 314 measures. In 2026, up to 31st March, there has been a large volume of draft applications (over 1200) to the Business Energy Upgrades Scheme (BEUS). 214 applications have been approved with a combined total in offers in excess of €3.8million and a total number of 375 measures.

The Support Scheme for Renewable Heat (SSRH)is designed to financially support the installation and/or operation of renewable heating systems by commercial, industrial, agricultural, district heating and other non-domestic heat users. It aims to bridge the gap, using an operational tariff over a 15 year payment cycle, between the operating costs of biomass heating systems and the conventional fossil fuel alternatives.

The Non-Domestic Microgen Schemeprovides financial assistance to help businesses and other sectors to install solar PV panels to generate electricity on site. Grants are available for systems up to a maximum of €162,600 for installations of up to 1000kWp. From launch in 2022 to May 2026 this scheme has supported 2,791 installations totalling over €30m. There are over 1,400 applications in progress for this scheme, showing that demand is accelerating.

The Community Energy Grant (CEG) Scheme – this is the longest standing scheme for business -it provides grant support for cross-sectoral projects, supporting new approaches to achieving energy efficiency in Irish communities. The CEG Scheme provides funding for a range of improvements to existing buildings, including insulation, heat pump systems, solar PV, energy-efficient lighting, and energy monitors, as well as other energy upgrades.

The SEAI support schemes are kept under regular review to ensure their effectiveness. I have already approved reforms to several of these, and I am looking closely at what can be done to expand or improve the others.

There are also a range of supports available through the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment and its Agencies, to help businesses reduce energy consumption and operating costs. The Energy Efficiency Grant, available through the Local Enterprise Offices, offers 75% of project costs up to a maximum amount of €10,000 and is open to all small businesses with up to 50 employees.

678 businesses invested with the help of the energy efficiency grant in 2025 - with more than €5.7m in support committed to these projects. Enterprise Ireland’s Climate Action Voucher offers up to €1,800 to fund two days of independent consultancy to help companies to identify and act on energy-saving opportunities. 223 vouchers were approved in 2025.

Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland clients in the manufacturing sector can avail of the €300m Environmental Aid Fund which supports investments in energy efficiency and decarbonisation in Ireland’s manufacturing sectors. I understand there is strong demand for this also.