Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 18 April 2012
769 Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the progress that has been made in the setting up of a work group and the outlining of new criteria with regard to the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland warmer homes grants which will allow contractors to carry out works for applicants who applied to the scheme in 2012. [19219/12]
View answerBetter Energy: Warmer Homes delivers a range of energy efficiency measures to households that are vulnerable to energy poverty. The scheme is managed by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) and delivered through a range of Community Based Organisations (CBOs), augmented by a panel of private contractors in order to ensure national coverage.
The SEAI has recently renewed the contracts with 26 of the network of CBOs and hopes to conclude negotiations with the remainder at the earliest possible opportunity. Energy efficiency upgrades continue to be provided and households on the waiting list on 31 March 2012 are being retrofitted according to their position on the waiting list. All applicants since the end of 2011 have been informed that there will be a change in eligibility criteria.
An Invitation to Tender was recently published by the SEAI to establish a new panel of private contractors to augment this network. The public procurement process through the Official Journal of the European Union will take a number of weeks to conclude and a panel should be in place next month.
2012 will mark a shift in emphasis on the Better Energy: Warmer Homes scheme to take account of the Government's Affordable Energy Strategy, which I launched last November. The Inter-Departmental Group on Affordable Energy met in February 2012 and has established subgroups to work on particular dimensions, including finalisation of revised eligibility criteria for the scheme. Heretofore, applicants were considered eligible for retrofit measures if they met defined criteria, such as eligibility for the National Fuel Scheme. All successful applicants were placed on a waiting list and addressed in rotation.
The focus in 2012 is shifting to addressing those households identified as being in extreme energy poverty as a priority; such households typically spend over 20% of their disposable income on energy services. This will ensure that those most in need receive the benefit of energy efficiency measures first.
