Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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63. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the work his Department has undertaken as part of the energy poverty steering group; how many times the group has met; what actions have stemmed from these engagements; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25438/24]

Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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It is the first time since the Minister, Deputy Ryan, announced that he will be stepping down as leader of the Green Party and will not be contesting the next general election that I have had an opportunity in the Chamber to wish him well. We have had lots of engagement both here and in the committee and it has always been constructive and policy-focused. I thank him for that and wish him well.

My first question relates to the energy poverty steering group. How many times has it met? What actions have stemmed from these engagements? I ask the Minister to make a statement on the matter.

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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First, I thank Deputy O'Rourke, in turn. It has always been a pleasure to work with him in various committees and in the Chamber here. I can respond similarly to the Deputy about the constructive approach he takes. As we still have some months to go in this Government, he and I will probably disagree on various issues, but the engagement with the Deputy has always been very civil and I very much appreciate that.

In response to the question, the energy poverty steering group was established in August 2022 and has met eight times. The steering group has overseen implementation of the energy poverty action plan. An annual report outlining progress under the various actions in the energy poverty action plan was published in May this year and is available on gov.ie.

Headline achievements since December 2022 have included the implementation of the electricity costs emergency benefit schemes II and III, through which some 2.2 million households received €1,050 between November 2022 and April 2024 at an approximate total cost of €2 billion; the completion of 2,445 retrofits through the local authority retrofit programme; and the delivery of approximately 5,900 free upgrades for energy poor homes under the better energy warmer homes scheme, with final expenditure in 2023 amounting to €158 million.

As part of the work of the steering group, the inaugural energy poverty stakeholder forum was held on 7 July 2023. The steering group launched a consultation to inform the development of a revised energy poverty action plan in March 2024. The second energy poverty forum was held this week, on Monday, 24 June, and provided another opportunity for stakeholders to discuss proposed actions for inclusion in the revised plan, which is due for publication in the coming months.

These measures, along with others in the plan, have helped to ensure that despite the unprecedented rise in energy costs experienced arising from Russia's invasion of Ukraine, households in Ireland have been supported by this Government to meet their energy costs, and homes have been warmer and more comfortable as a result.

Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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One of the issues of contention for some time in this area is definitions. A clear definition gives us the opportunity to measure. There are different definitions. Does the Minister have an update on the work towards agreeing a definition on energy poverty? Will the Government adopt the EU definition, for example, or is the Minister considering a focus on outcome and experience of going without sufficient energy, as recommended by a number of stakeholders, including the Society of St. Vincent de Paul?

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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We are looking at definitions. The ESRI has been commissioned and will complete a body of research, although it will be some time before that is completed. An evidence-based approach will be key to its analysis and coming up with a definition.

For the State, the most effective measure in terms of definitions or impacts has been on the awarding of fuel allowances for some 400,000 homes. As I said, that is designed to try to capture a variety of different circumstances. There are always going to be people on the margin. There will be some people who are ineligible for that, who are in effective fuel poverty. It obviously depends on the nature of the building they are in, as well as their income and various other factors. The allowances and the definition for those who may apply for the warmer homes scheme are examples of how we are applying the definitions at present. There is an issue and it is important that in any interventions we target those most at risk. That relates to the building fabric in particular. We will await the research conclusions from the ESRI to further decide on the definition issue.

Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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One of the things we need to do, which would be enabled by clarity on definitions, is better mapping and managing of data, for example, on income, CSO data, population data and also BER data from the SEAI. That would allow us to have clear targets for energy poverty reduction built into our national retrofitting plan. I have raised this issue with the Minister before and he pointed towards what is almost an overlap with the warmer homes scheme. As a result of the eligibility criteria, there is a significant overlap there, but we need a greater strategic focus in that regard. I would welcome the Minister's thoughts on that.

In the meantime, there is a need for wraparound services, for example, energy advisers, in the intervening period, as has been recommended by a number of stakeholders. They could, for example, help people switch providers and be more energy efficient in their existing, often challenging, domestic circumstances.

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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First, our retrofit schemes are the most effective mechanism. We have immediate measures such as the fuel allowance, but the best way of tackling fuel poverty is to deal with the problem at source and to improve the building fabric so that people do not have to spend money, especially on wasteful or inefficient fossil fuel heating systems. Our strategy in that regard is very clearly towards a socially progressive approach. The largest share of the funding we get from carbon tax goes to the warmer homes scheme, which is explicitly targeted. It is not just that, there are also the social housing inventions made by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. The relentless year-on-year targeting of those at risk in that way is the best way of addressing the problem. The fact that each year we know we have an additional €89 million coming, which is outside the budgetary system, has allowed us to give clear signals to the industry that this is going to continue to scale up.

It is working. We have a really successful approach.

On the Deputy's second point on advisers, I agree that is an important element. Through the difficult period of the past two to three years, we have seen the systems in place are working effectively. The companies working with MABS, the likes of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and our internal debt management teams have helped us through this process. They all have backup resources to help the most acutely affected. There are still many households in difficulty. We are not out of the woods yet. A particularly significant number of households are still in debt arrears on gas bills. We have direct customer support systems and they have helped people through this difficult period.