The Government is to bring forward a boiler scrappage scheme that could be worth €2,000 to households, Minister for Energy Darragh O’Brien has said.
Speaking on the fringes of the UN high-level week in New York on Wednesday, O’Brien said he planned to bring the scheme to Cabinet next week.
O’Brien told reporters he would be taking measures to accelerate retrofitting, saying it was good for the economy, for households and the climate.
“What I’ll be bringing to Cabinet next Tuesday in advance of the budget is additional grants,” he said – things like domestic battery storage and a boiler scrappage scheme.
READ MORE
“A lot of people, particularly in rural areas, are dependent on kerosene home heating oil and we’ve seen the increases in prices particularly in that area, and I’ll be bringing forward – subject to Government approval – a boiler scrappage scheme.
“We’ll have grants of up to €14,500 to replace oil boilers, kerosene boilers, with new technologies.”
The Dublin Fingal East TD confirmed the payment would act as a top-up to existing grants, such as for installing a heat pump.
A spokeswoman for the Minister said the proposed new oil and kerosene boiler scrappage scheme will be worth €2,000 and can also be used in conjunction with the existing scheme of up to €12,500 for a heat pump.
He said it would not be available for every boiler, but would be targeted towards those approaching the end of their service life – with the details to be discussed by Cabinet next week.
“We are also looking at accelerating solar too,” he said, saying the technology is a major part of the energy mix. Amid high levels of interest in grants, he said he wanted to see if they could be done more efficiently.
“What I’ll be looking to do is phase grants in that will be contractor-led, to remove the administrative burden from the SEAI in certain grants, like we’ve done with windows and doors.”
He also indicated if a home had already been approved for a solar grant, it would now get a battery grant as well for domestic storage.
He said retrofitting and pivoting to renewable energies would also protect homes from future price shocks as have been seen in the wake of the Ukrainian invasion by Russia and the US-Israeli strikes on Iran.
[ Irish Times poll reveals what voters want in Budget 2027Opens in new window ]
