Strong feeling in Cork over winding down of solar-panel scheme – ‘they should be increasing it’

By Peter McCarthy, Corkman

The state grant to help people meet the cost of installing solar panels on the roofs of their homes should be increased and not decreased and phased out as is currently planned, a Fermoy councillor has said.

Cllr Peter O’Donoghue brought a motion before a Cork County Council meeting this week calling on the local authority to write to the environment minister urging him to increase the grant for solar photovoltaic (PV) panels and extend it to all buildings, including new builds. He also asked for battery storage to be included in the grant.

Cllr O’Donoghue said that when the SEAI Solar PV Scheme was launched in December 2021 the maximum grant available was €2,400. It has now been reduced to €1,800, will be decreased by another €300 next year, and is due to completely expire in 2029.

“I find it astounding at this current time when the government is pushing extremely hard for large-scale wind and solar energy projects to be developed across the country, that it is at the same time reducing the incentive for homeowners to install solar panels on the roofs of their homes. The government should be doing the opposite and increasing the grant, making it available to all domestic buildings no matter how old or new the building is,” he said.

He said increasing the grant would “reduce the energy costs for the owners of those buildings, and as a result, will put more money back into their pockets and back into the local community. Microgeneration of electrical energy by the building owners of this country to support the existing national grid and reduce energy consumption is the way forward.”

The motion was widely supported by his fellow councillors. Cllr Isabel Towse said “we need to incentivise solar PVs, especially for low- and middle-income families who struggle with their bills and arguably would benefit the most from these panels and from this scheme.”

Cllr Ann Bambury agreed that restricting the grant to properties built before 2021 is counterproductive. “Excluding new builds discourages the integration of solar technology at the most logical and cost-effective stage of development and runs contrary to best practice in sustainable construction,” she said.

“I strongly support the reinstatement of the grant support for battery storage. The battery system significantly enhanced the effectiveness of the solar PV. You can charge your batteries at a lower rate during the night, which is fantastic. I have solar PV installed and the reduction in energy costs has been substantial.”

The council will now write to the environment minister on foot of Cllr O’Donoghue’s proposal. The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) Solar PV Scheme provides a grant of up to €1,800 for homeowners, owner management companies and approved housing bodies to install PV panels on their properties, provided the house was built and occupied before 2021. The SEAI said that 34,088 households installed PV panels under the scheme in 2025.