149. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment if he will address the concerns raised in correspondence (details supplied), regarding eligibility criteria for older persons under the SEAI Warmer Homes Scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [61468/26]

The Warmer Homes Scheme aims to improve the energy efficiency and warmth of homes owned by people at risk of energy poverty by providing fully funded retrofits. The scheme is operated by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) on behalf of my Department and is funded through carbon tax revenues and the European Regional Development Fund.

The scheme is available to owner-occupied homes built before 2006 where the household meets the Department of Social Protection (DSP) payment related eligibility criteria.

The eligible DSP payments are:

• Fuel Allowance;

• Job Seeker’s Allowance for more than 6 months with a child under 7;

• Working Family Payment (previously the Family Income Supplement);

• One Parent Family Payment;

• Domiciliary Care Allowance;

• Carer’s Allowance (where you live with the person you are caring for);

• Disability Allowance for more than 6 months with a child under 7.

The SEAI has an online application service in partnership with DSP. This online portal provides immediate confirmation of eligibility for homeowners who meet the eligibility criteria and can be found on the SEAI website at https://onlinewhs.powerappsportals.com/.

These eligibility criteria are in place with the aim of targeting the support to those on the lowest incomes in the least efficient homes, so that the resources available to the scheme can have the greatest impact. The scheme eligibility criteria are kept under ongoing review by my Department, together with the DSP, to ensure they are consistent with, and complementary to, the other income support schemes offered by that Department.

For people who don’t qualify for the Warmer Homes Scheme, new measures announced in January under the new National Residential Retrofit Plan 2026 (NRRP) provide grant support for a range of energy efficiency improvements to existing homes. The grants are available across SEAI programmes, Better Energy Homes for individual upgrades, the Community Energy Grant scheme through project coordinators and National Home Energy Upgrade Scheme for deep retrofits through One Stop Shops. The new measures announced as part of the NRRP include new and enhanced attic and cavity wall insulation grants, an enhanced heat pump system grant, as well as grants for windows and doors.

Among the key initiatives announced in January is the Healthy Age Friendly Homes (HAFH) Support Pilot, operating as part of the HAFH programme by assigning a Community Energy Project Coordinator to each of the Local Authorities to support homeowners with energy upgrade information and surveys if required. The pilot is a collaboration between Age Friendly Ireland and the SEAI to facilitate home energy upgrades and has launched this year for a six-month trial period. Healthy Age Friendly Homes can be contacted on 046 9248899 or by email at healthyagefriendlyhomes@meathcoco.ie for further information and assistance.

Homeowners can contact the SEAI for further information on all available home energy upgrade grants by email at info@seai.ie or telephone at 01 808 2100. Oireachtas members can make queries on behalf of applicants by contacting the dedicated email address oireachtas@seai.ie.

You may also wish to note that Government also has other schemes and supports in place which may be of assistance where there is an urgent need:

• the DSP's Additional Needs Payment is a payment available to people who have essential expenses that they cannot pay from their weekly income. Additional Needs Payments are paid under Supplementary Welfare Allowance which is administered by the Community Welfare Service or the DSP. Details are available here: www.gov.ie/en/service/4eb45-additional-needs-payment/; and

• the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage's Housing Adaptation Grants can assist older people to have necessary adaptations, repairs or improvement works carried out in order to make their accommodation more suitable for their needs. Details are available here: www.gov.ie/en/service/6636c-housing-adaptation-grants-for-older-people-and-people-with-a-disability/.