Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 6 November 2012
621. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if he will review a decision on a Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland grant application under the better energy communities pilot 2012 scheme in respect of an organisation (details supplied) in County Kerry that was recently declined; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48180/12]
View answerThe Better Energy Communities Pilot 2012 was launched in July 2012 with a goal of stimulating, supporting and testing innovative approaches to delivering energy performance improvements at a community level. It was specifically seeking to test innovative and pioneering partnerships for delivery by building on existing community groups/networks within the Community rather than targeting individual homeowners or businesses.
The Pilot stimulated a high level of interest from community groups and other organisations around the country. It was a very competitive call and received applications for funding well in excess of the €3 million that was made available.
The application from Glenbeigh Community Centre requested 100% funding, and although the maximum funding levels were not defined in the call, the maximum grant awarded under the pilot was 80%.
The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) reviewed the project against the published evaluation criteria using a standardised evaluation form. A minimum overall pass mark of 50% was required in order to be eligible for funding. Unfortunately, the application from Glenbeigh Community Centre did not achieve the minimum pass mark and so has been declined for funding under the Pilot. SEAI would be very happy to provide further feedback to the applicant on the areas in which the project scored poorly and to identify opportunities for it to be improved.
Should funding be allocated for a full scale Communities Programme in 2013, it is hoped that Glenbeigh Community Centre would give it their consideration.
