Minister O'Brien announces suite of new SEAI grant supports – bringing energy upgrades to more and more homeowners

• National Residential Retrofit Plan 2026 will make home energy upgrades more affordable, and accessible to many more homeowners
• New and enhanced individual upgrades to support homeowners with their upgrade journey – including new window and door grants
• Higher grants and wider eligibility making it easier for homeowners to complete deep retrofits on a phased basis that suits their budgets
• Higher grants for homeowners on Qualifying Welfare Payments
• New support for First Time Buyers (of existing houses)
• Increased grant support for Approved Housing Bodies and local authorities, as well as support in the community for older people

Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment Darragh O'Brien has announced a package of new and enhanced grants for homeowners across the country who are looking to benefit from home energy upgrades.

Designed to make homes warmer, more comfortable, and cheaper to heat, a new and enlarged package of grants will be administered by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) under the new National Residential Retrofit Plan. The new measures will see many more households benefit from homes that are warmer and cheaper to heat.

Minister O'Brien commented:

William Walsh, chief executive of SEAI, said:

From 3 February

Uplift for existing grants for cavity wall insulation and attic insulation*

In 2022, higher grants were introduced as energy affordability measures, focused on homeowners who are not eligible for energy-poor grants. Recognising that costs have risen since then, grant levels for cavity wall insulation and attic insulation will be increased. These higher fixed grants will substantially reduce costs for homeowners.

Heat Pump System Grants*

The upfront cost of heat pumps, and the additional cost of potentially having to replace the entire heating system, may be a barrier to some homeowners seeking to adopt heat pumps. To reduce the costs associated with a whole house heating system upgrade, and to accelerate the uptake of heat pumps, a fixed-amount grant for installing a heat pump system will be introduced. This grant encompasses the existing €6,500 for the heat pump, €2,000 for upgrading radiators and pipework and a new renewable heating bonus of €4,000. The new maximum grant of €12,500 will apply to applications already in train with the SEAI (and not yet processed for payment).

There will also be a new high temperature heat pump pilot scheme to test the suitability of that emerging technology in Irish homes. The pilot will evaluate performance of the technology and ensure that actual running costs remain affordable and comparable to pre-heat-pump fossil fuel heating costs.

From 2 March

Windows and Doors (grants available at a building fabric standard*)

A new grant will be introduced for the installation of energy-efficient windows and doors (to replace poorly performing windows and doors) for homes where the building fabric will meet or already meets a specified minimum performance standard. Many homes will already meet this standard. For others, they may also need to fit attic or wall insulation – measures for which generous grants are already available. Combined with attic and wall insulation supports, grants for windows and doors will bring increased levels of comfort (as well as bringing a significant number of homes to heat pump readiness).

Attic Insulation for First Time Buyers*

To enable First Time Buyers of existing homes to get on the energy upgrade journey – quickly and at minimal cost – a specific grant for attic insulation for these new homeowners will be introduced. In fact, First Time Buyers will be able to avail of a higher fixed grant for attic insulation than would otherwise be the case. In many cases the grant amount will cover most or even all the total cost. This will support First Time Buyers who purchase an existing property and might not be in a financial position to progress to undertake a complete energy upgrade (i.e. a deep retrofit).

'Second Wall' measure*

Many homeowners have previously availed of a grant for cavity or internal wall insulation. These homeowners may want to further improve the level of wall insulation – to make their homes even warmer and cheaper to heat (and to make their homes heat pump ready). At present, these homeowners are precluded from receiving a grant for a second wall measure (under Better Energy Homes). From 2 March 2026, they can apply for a grant for a second wall measure (in line with the terms and conditions).

New and enhanced grants for homeowners on Qualifying Welfare Payments:

To accelerate the uptake of insulation measures for those who may be at risk of energy poverty, and to make a number of lower cost and effective measures easier to access more quickly , including for those who may already be on the waiting list of the Warmer Homes Scheme, a higher fixed-amount grant for attic and cavity insulation will be introduced from 2 March for homeowners who are on qualifying welfare payments – aligned with Warmer Home Scheme eligibility requirements. This will give qualifying homeowners the option to select these individual energy upgrades and avail of the higher fixed grant amount. In many cases, the grant amount will cover most or even all the total cost. Where relevant, availing of these new grants will not affect an applicant's place on the waiting list for other measures (under the Warmer Homes Scheme).

Additional measures to promote more area-based retrofitting and support vulnerable households

Local authority homes

• The government supports the retrofitting of local authority homes through the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage's Local Authority Energy Efficiency Retrofit Programme, focusing on deep retrofits for warmer, cheaper-to-heat, and more comfortable housing, with funding supporting insulation, windows, and renewable heating systems such as heat pumps.
• Recognising that there is a cohort of local authority homes that could still benefit from shallow upgrade measures, local authorities will be allowed to access Better Energy Homes grants for attic and cavity wall insulation and heating controls. These upgrades would be delivered as well as the continued delivery of their existing deeper retrofit programme, which is funded by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.

Approved Housing Bodies

• It is proposed to increase the grant rate available to Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) to provide additional support to them to upgrade their worst performing homes. This will also support the upgrade of multi-unit developments in Approved Housing Body ownership, which are a particularly difficult segment of the market to retrofit.
• This proposal will also increase the grant rate provided to energy poor households under the Community Energy Grant (CEG) Scheme, ensuring no homes are left behind in area-based projects.
• Grant amounts for AHB homes under the National Home Energy Upgrade Scheme (NHEUS) and CEG will be increased to around 75% of the overall cost and for fuel poor homes to around 80% of the overall cost of upgrade. Together with the support available from obligated parties under the EEOS (Energy Efficiency Obligation Scheme) this could provide funding in excess of 90% of the cost of projects for AHBs. Detail on the technical requirements and final terms and conditions of the scheme will be made available later in Quarter 1.

For homeowners who want to upgrade their home in one go, the popular One Stop Shop service will continue to be a great option. The works will be fully managed by an SEAI-registered One Stop Shop, and there's a wider range of grants, with the grants deducted from the cost of the works upfront. These applicants will also benefit from any of the newly announced grant increases. There are also low-cost loan options available through participating lenders.

*These are new or additional measures, which will be accessed under the SEAI's (existing) Better Energy Homes Scheme. Between 2019 and the end of 2025, the government has invested €1.67 billion to support upgrades in over 244,000 (almost a quarter of a million) homes.

For more information, go to www.seai.ie/homeenergyupgrades.

The new National Residential Retrofit Plan is available on the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment's website.

ENDS

Domestic Solar PV Grant Scheme

Since its launch in 2022, the Domestic Solar PV Grant Scheme has been very successful, supported by the government decision to apply a 0% VAT rate for the supply and installation of solar panels on domestic premises. In November 2025, the Minister announced that for 2026, the grant will remain at the 2025 level of €1,800.

Taxation incentives – to benefit homeowners and households

To supplement the government grants available, a 0% VAT rate for solar panels for private dwellings was introduced on 1 May 2023 – to encourage the use of renewable energy and reduce household costs.

A 9% VAT rate for heat pumps took effect from 1 January 2025 (a reduction from the previous 23% standard rate, and the lowest VAT rate allowable under EU law), making heat pumps more affordable for homeowners.

A tax incentive is also in place to encourage the undertaking of retrofit works on rental properties while the tenant remains in situ. Landlords can deduct the lesser of €10,000 or the actual amount incurred on retrofitting works (net of the SEAI grant amount) from their rental income. The relief is available for a maximum of two properties for works carried out between 1 January 2023 and 31 December 2025. The limit increases to a maximum of three properties for works done from 2026 to 2028. This measure seeks to address the issue of misaligned incentives between tenants and landlords, which impedes the uptake of energy efficiency measures in the private rented sector.

Home Energy Upgrade Loan Scheme

The Home Energy Upgrade Loan Scheme was launched on 24 April 2024. The €500 million scheme was developed by the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment, in collaboration with the Department of Finance, the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland, the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Investment Fund, and was the first of its kind for Ireland and the EIB Group.

Homeowners can borrow from €5,000 to €75,000 at significantly lower interest rates to those currently on the market, and the loans can be used by homeowners who want to undertake a deep retrofit, involving several energy upgrades at the same time, or to carry out one or two upgrades that will significantly improve the energy performance of their home.

To avail of the low-cost loans, the upgrade projects musts be supported by an SEAI grant, carried out by an SEAI registered One Stop Shop or Communities Project Coordinator, and be projected to achieve a minimum 20% improvement in the energy performance of the building.

PTSB, AIB, Bank of Ireland, Avant Money (in partnership with An Post Money) and seven Credit Unions from the Irish League of Credit Unions are now offering loans under the Scheme, with rates starting from as low as 2.99% (pricing varies depending on the finance provider).