94. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the percentage of grant applications to SEAI that are withdrawn. [49212/25]

Sentiment score: 0.19

Will the Minister of State provide an update on the percentage of grant applications to the SEAI schemes that are being withdrawn?

Sentiment score: 0.36

I asked a simple question - what was the percentage of people who withdrew from the SEAI scheme - and I did not get the percentage. People are telling me that they are withdrawing from the scheme or not applying to the scheme because they do not have the money. It turns out that the people who most need the retrofitting and the upgrading works to their house to bring them to at least a B2 standard cannot afford the money that is needed. For example, heat pumps cost anywhere from €8,500 to €20,000 but the maximum grant available from the SEAI scheme is €6,500. I know a family in Farranree, Fairhill in Cork who could not get the scheme done. They are pensioners. They are not that old but they are retired. They could not get the scheme done in their house because they did not have the additional money to do it, but their neighbours across the road in an identical house could get it because they had the money. What are we doing? Can we get the figures on how many people are withdrawing? What are we doing to get the support to the people who most need it?

Sentiment score: 0.08

The Minister of State urgently needs to instruct the SEAI to collect data on people who withdraw their applications to the scheme. It needs to find out why people withdraw. A survey by AIB showed that 62% of people who wanted to retrofit and upgrade their houses to become more energy efficient could not afford to do so. The figures are showing that the people who need their homes upgraded and retrofitted, those who need support, cannot get it but the people who have the money and, in many cases, do not need the grants can get them. There is something wrong with the system. We need to know the information as to why people are withdrawing from the scheme and not taking it up. We also need to know why people are not applying. I do not believe that the increases the Minister of State is talking about keep up to date with the construction inflation of the past three years. People are telling me they cannot afford to upgrade their homes. What are the Minister of State and the Government going to do to support people who need it?

Sentiment score: 0.06