Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein)
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1. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment for an update on the transition to renewable heat; if he has considered measures to increase the use of biofuels; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17836/25]

Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein)
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I ask the Minister for an update on renewable heat and whether he has considered measures to increase the use of biofuels because, when it comes to our transition to renewable heat, alarm bells should be ringing. No matter what way you look at it, Ireland has no hope of meeting its targets. For years, the Government has been acting as if heat pumps were the only show in town, but experience and the evidence have shown us the take-up has been extremely poor.

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as a cheist.

National Heat Study, published by the SEAI, contains a detailed analysis that is being used by my Department to inform the development of policies and measures to decarbonise Ireland's heating and cooling sectors by 2050. I assure the Deputy that the study considered several potential decarbonisation options for a wide range of homes and, indeed, business premises. This included the use of liquid biofuels such as HVO, solid biomass, biogas and other technologies such as heat pumps and district heating networks.

I am acutely aware that heat pumps are not the only solution. The roll-out of heat pumps to new dwellings is very welcome but, certainly in respect of retrofitting, there are challenges. Therefore, we must consider all options. The recommendation of the heat study is that heat pumps represent the optimal decarbonisation path for heating systems and decarbonising buildings, with district heating also an option that can be widely deployed. I really want to see district heating accelerated because we have been slow on it, and that is being kind.

The national heat study has recognised the potential role of sustainable bioenergy for buildings that require alternative routes to decarbonisation, and that is being considered as part of a suite of measures to decarbonise heating. My Department is also working on the introduction of a renewable heat obligation, RHO, for the heat sector, which will stimulate demand and increase the use of renewable fuels by obligating suppliers of fossil fuels used for heat to ensure a proportion of the energy they supply is from renewable sources. The work on the RHO is urgent and I want to bring it to a conclusion as quickly as possible. There will be a cost related to it but the introduction of the RHO is critical in supporting exactly what the Deputy has asked for today, namely the use of alternatives to heat pumps.

Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein)
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The Minister is probably aware that we have retrofitted only 12% of our BER B2 target for 2030 and 5% of the heat pump target. I acknowledge that the Minister stated heat pumps represent the optimal approach. For newer, efficient buildings, heat pumps are the obvious choice but the cost of making people's homes pump-ready makes an immediate switch impossible. Some 70,000 people rely on liquid fuels. One in three of them is over 65, and 59% of those with a liquid boiler live in rural Ireland. The current scheme will never be the answer for them, but biofuels are a good alternative. The Minister stated a proportion should be using biofuels. What proportion does he have in mind? The switch to biofuels can be much less disruptive for houses. It can be done in an afternoon rather than waiting for months. The price of upgrading a boiler could be as low as €300, by comparison with the cost of installing a heat pump in a property, which could be thousands upon thousands of euro.

Despite the obvious advantage of biofuel, combined with the failings of the current scheme, it is frustrating that more emphasis has not been placed on biofuel. What measures are being taken and what is the proportion?

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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I am considering all options. There is a new Administration and new Minister. I can see where we have done very well in retrofitting. I have already said very clearly that heat pumps represent the optimal solution but not the only one.

We have got to carry out a very detailed assessment of the supply of biofuels, including biofuels used in transportation. If we are to accelerate their use across residential dwellings, what level of supply can we actually achieve at this stage?

The RHO will be very important. It will be a mechanism to really accelerate the use of alternative fuels. We have an objective within the RHO to support the delivery of our commitment to producing 5.7 TW of indigenous biomethane by 2030. I will be straight with the Deputy: we are way off that at the moment and that is why I have got to consider all our targets, particularly for renewables. In some areas, such as SPV, we are doing very well. I take the point on deep retrofitting and its cost but I am right now carrying out an assessment with the SEAI on the grants currently available and how we might be able to alter them and make them more accessible for people, particularly in this area.

Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein)
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Does the Minister know when that assessment will be completed? The grants are clearly too low and will not suit people who do not have €50,000 to invest in their home.

There are many people, particularly older people, who have been using some sort of liquid fuel to heat their houses for many years. They are not going to leave their homes for a few months, rent somewhere or stay with family because of the disruption. They will just keep going the way they are going.

Speaking practically, what extra benefits or grants will the Government give? I was just checking with Kerry County Council, for example, and only 708 of its 4,500 social homes have a BER of A or B. That is moving frustratingly slow as well. If the county councils are not doing it, how do you expect anyone else to do it?

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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The local authorities are doing a good job retrofitting social housing stock. I had experience of that in my previous portfolio. We have an exacting target of retrofitting 500,000 homes by 2030. At the last count, the figure stood at approximately 165,000 across the country, both public and private. However, there is work to do be done.

To answer the Deputy's question on the grant offering, I have asked the SEAI to come back to me with options on that. I want to conclude that before the summer but I am not going to rush into it either. There are areas of the grants that are working very well but I want to make them more accessible. We have also expanded the energy retrofit loan scheme, as the Deputy will have noticed. If that is available, the interest rate is generally around 3% or less.

The heat policy statement is important and will guide us in this area. To inform the House as to where that is, I have a draft statement, which has been informed by the findings of the national heat study prepared by my Department. We have had consultations with other State agencies and Departments. A strategic environmental assessment, SEA, has been completed and a public consultation on the SEA report and draft heat policy statement will now be undertaken. I expect that to be done in the coming weeks. That will go out to public consultation and inform how we move forward. I thank the Deputy for his question.