PLUMBING & HEATING · 5 MIN READ
Boiler scrappage: €14,500 heat pump grant and €1,627 oil
Boiler scrappage: the €2,000 SEAI top-up takes heat pump grants to €14,500 as heating oil hits €1,627 per 1,000 litres and energy prices rise.
Home heating oil cost an average of €1,627.43 per 1,000 litres across the Republic on 4 November, according to Cheapestoil.ie, up 2.2% in a month and far above the €491.05 per 500 litres that Oilprices.ie recorded on 20 February, while the Government's €2,000 boiler scrappage top-up has been live for four weeks.
The €2,000 top-up: what is on offer
The fossil fuel boiler scrappage support took effect on 6 October 2026 in a package announced by Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment Darragh O'Brien and delivered by the SEAI. It adds €2,000 to the heat pump grant for eligible applicants, and homeowners with an application already in progress get the €2,000 automatically, according to the gov.ie release reproduced by fundsforNGOs.
The SEAI's existing heat pump support is worth up to €12,500: up to €6,500 for the heat pump system, up to €2,000 for central heating upgrades such as new radiators, and a €4,000 renewable heat bonus for replacing an oil, gas, solid-fuel or electric storage system. With the top-up, the total is up to €14,500, the figure Minister O'Brien gave in September, the Irish Examiner reported.
Budget 2027 allocated €654.5 million to SEAI residential and community upgrade schemes, the Irish Times reported.
Who qualifies, and what it does not cover
The Irish Times explainer of 24 September set out the eligibility: the home must have been built before 2021, the existing heating system must be older and nearing the end of its life, and the current primary heat source must be oil or kerosene, gas, LPG, solid fuel, electric storage heaters, or no central heating at all.
It is not a boiler-for-boiler grant: the money applies only when the boiler is replaced with a heat pump, efficient electric heating or a district heating connection. A heat pump installation costs about €15,000 depending on the house, the Irish Times said, so most households will have some cost to meet, plus any insulation needed first.
SEAI's own guidance says homes built from 2007 onwards are usually heat-pump ready, while homes built before 2007 need a technical assessment from an SEAI-registered advisor unless a valid BER certificate shows the insulation meets the required standard.
Demand was already at a record
The SEAI said on 4 May that it had processed a record 25,000 home energy upgrade applications in 2026 by then and supported 12,300 upgrades in the first quarter, after 58,600 in 2025. The October package landed on top of that, so expect longer waits for assessments and installations into the New Year.
Oil at €1,627 and the February comparison
Cheapestoil.ie's national average on 4 November was €1,627.43 per 1,000 litres and €828.40 per 500 litres, down 0.7% on the week but up 2.2% on the month, with Louth the cheapest county at €1,570 per 1,000 litres.
On 20 February, before the spring spike, Oilprices.ie figures reported by RTÉ put the national average at €491.05 per 500 litres; the price peaked at €1,000 per 500 litres on 3 and 4 March. A 500-litre fill is €337 dearer now than in February, a rise of about 69%.
Budget 2027 cut the carbon tax on kerosene and natural gas to €48.50 per tonne for the lifetime of the Government and raised the Fuel Allowance by €5 to €43 a week, with the income threshold for single people over 66 set at €641, the Irish Times reported.
Gas and electricity: three suppliers up in October
SSE Airtricity raised electricity unit rates by 9.4% and gas unit rates by 11.6% from 5 October, adding €310 a year for a typical dual-fuel household, the Irish Examiner reported. Bord Gáis Energy raised electricity rates 9.1% and gas rates 10.6% from 9 October, and Energia raised electricity by an average 4.73% and gas by 9.38% from 12 October, according to bonkers.ie, which also recorded Flogas cutting its discounts to 10%.
The Commission for Regulation of Utilities cut the PSO levy by 66% to €0.51 a month for domestic customers from 1 October, but approved network charges that add about €41.25 a year to a household bill over the same period.
Servicing, carbon monoxide and frozen pipes
The Register of Gas Installers of Ireland says a gas boiler "needs to be serviced once a year" and asks the public to report anyone working on gas installations or servicing appliances without being a Registered Gas Installer. Carbon monoxide, it reminds readers, is colourless, odourless and tasteless.
Met Éireann had no weather warnings in operation on 4 November, but Uisce Éireann's winter advice stands: lag exposed pipes and tanks, find your stop valve, fix dripping taps, and do not leave taps running, which it says "is not an effective way of preventing frozen pipes". Its 24-hour line is 1800 278 278.
What it means for you
- Oil or gas boiler nearing the end of its life in a pre-2021 home: get a BER or SEAI technical assessment now; the top-up only applies if you move to a heat pump, electric heating or district heating.
- Not ready to switch? Book an annual boiler service before the cold snap.
- Compare county oil prices before a fill, and buy in smaller lots while prices are flat.
- Lag outside pipes and the attic tank now, and test your carbon monoxide alarm.
- Find RGII-registered gas installers, oil boiler engineers and SEAI-registered heat pump installers in your area on Locufy.
For providers: quote heat pump jobs with the full grant breakdown (€6,500 unit, €2,000 heating upgrades, €4,000 bonus, €2,000 scrappage top-up) and the assessment step for pre-2007 homes, offer boiler-service slots in November, and have a burst-pipe call-out rate ready.
Key dates
- 6 October 2026: €2,000 boiler scrappage top-up live; Budget 2027 announced
- 5, 9 and 12 October 2026: SSE Airtricity, Bord Gáis Energy and Energia price rises took effect
- 1 October 2026: PSO levy cut and new network charges in force
- Fuel Allowance season 2026/27: €43 a week
Sources
- Cheapestoil.ie — Heating oil prices, Republic of Ireland (4 Nov 2026)
- RTÉ — How much are fuel increases costing us? (21 Mar 2026)
- fundsforNGOs — Ireland enhances SEAI grants: boiler scrappage €2,000 from 6 Oct 2026 (1 Oct 2026)
- SEAI — Heat pump grant
- Irish Times — Boiler scrappage scheme: how it will work, what's on offer and who can avail of it (24 Sep 2026)
- Irish Examiner — Boiler scrappage scheme could offer grants of up to €14,500, minister says (23 Sep 2026)
- Irish Examiner — Applications for home energy grants have surged, says SEAI (4 May 2026)
- Irish Times — Budget 2027 main points (6 Oct 2026)
- Irish Examiner — 296,000 households face higher energy bills as SSE Airtricity raises prices (4 Sep 2026)
- bonkers.ie — Price change calendar
- CRU — CRU approves 2026/27 electricity network charges and reduced PSO levy (29 Jul 2026)
- RGII — Register of Gas Installers of Ireland
- Cork Safety Alerts — Uisce Éireann issues winter pipe protection advice as first frosts approach (18 Nov 2025)
- Met Éireann — Weather warnings today
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