Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 28 January 2016
356. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the funding he allocated and the funding spent on capital projects and other initiatives in the constituencies of Louth and Meath-East over the past five years, by project and initiative, and by completion date and by cost; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3557/16]
View answerTotal capital expenditure by my Department was €486m in the period 2011 to end 2015. This expenditure is not broken down by county. The most significant component of my Department's capital expenditure is in respect of the Better Energy Homes and Better Energy Warmer Homes schemes which are administered on behalf of my Department by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) under the Better Energy Programme.
The Better Energy Homes (BEH) scheme provides grant aid to private homeowners who wish to improve the energy performance of their home. Fixed grants are provided towards the cost of a range of measures including attic insulation, wall insulation, heating systems upgrades, solar thermal panels and accompanying Building Energy Rating (BER).
The following tables illustrate the number of homes grant-aided per year in respect of Louth and Meath.
|
BEH |
Louth |
Meath |
||
|
Year |
Number of houses completed |
Grants Paid |
Number of houses completed |
Grants Paid |
|
2011 |
1,095 |
€2,893,838 |
1,216 |
€355,723 |
|
2012 |
721 |
€1,066,900 |
678 |
€344,955 |
|
2013 |
543 |
€358,260 |
537 |
€159,170 |
|
2014 |
317 |
€220,670 |
350 |
€114,560 |
|
2015 |
387 |
€349,500 |
459 |
€489,610 |
|
Total |
3,063 |
€4,889,168 |
3,240 |
€1,464,018 |
The Better Energy Warmer Homes (BEWH) scheme delivers a range of energy efficiency measures free of charge to low income households vulnerable to energy poverty, who meet the eligibility criteria. It should be noted that under this scheme the full cost of the works is met, therefore the figures given relate to average spend per home. The measures available include draught proofing, attic insulation, lagging jackets for hot water tanks, low energy light bulbs and cavity wall insulation.
|
BEWH |
Louth |
Meath |
||
|
Year |
Number of houses completed |
Value of Service Provided |
Number of houses completed |
Value of Service Provided |
|
2011 |
360 |
€718 |
310 |
€618 |
|
2012 |
157 |
€313 |
241 |
€481 |
|
2013 |
151 |
€301 |
146 |
€291 |
|
2014 |
230 |
€459 |
318 |
€634 |
|
2015 |
159 |
€393 |
233 |
€485 |
|
Total |
1,057 |
€2,185 |
1,248 |
€2,510 |
Information in relation to other capital projects in the Louth East Meath area is set out in the table below.
|
Name of Project/Grant Scheme |
Overview of Scheme |
County |
Value of Project/Grant |
Completion date |
|
TELLUS Border |
InterReg IVA Project of environmental baseline surveying of 6 Border Counties in RoI |
Louth |
c.€250,000 spent on Louth between airborne geophysics, geochemistry and grant support for Dundalk IT |
Spring 2013 |
|
100Mbps Schools Project |
Delivery of 100Mbps and associated services to all post primary schools in the Country |
Louth – 14 Post Primary Schools |
€1.86m Capital Costs in 2012 – overall spend across 14 counties |
December 2012 |
|
100Mbps Schools Project |
Delivery of 100Mbps and associated services to all post primary schools in the Country |
Meath – 21 Post Primary Schools |
€1.36m Capital Costs in 2013 – Overall spend across 3 counties. |
December 2013 |
|
National Broadband Scheme (NBS) |
Delivery of basic, affordable broadband services in 1,028 Electoral Divisions(ED) across 25 counties where broadband services were deemed to be insufficient. |
Louth – 1 Electoral Division |
Payments made under the contract with the NBS Service Provider for the delivery of the Scheme amounted to €8.69m within the specified timeframe. |
August 2014 |
|
National Broadband Scheme (NBS) |
Delivery of basic, affordable broadband services to 1,028 EDs across 25 counties where broadband services were deemed to be insufficient. |
Meath – 18 Electoral Divisions |
Payments made under the contract with the NBS Service Provider for the delivery of the Scheme amounted to €8.69m within the specified timeframe. |
August 2014 |
|
TELLUS, Airborne Geophysical and Ground Geochemistry Programme (GSI) |
Surveyed as part of TELLUS North Midlands Phase |
Louth and East Meath |
c.€159,752 (8,612 line kilometres) |
Spring 2015 |
|
INFOMAR Programme (DCENR funded/Implemented by GSI & MI) |
National Seabed Mapping programme |
Offshore Louth and Meath |
c.€1,820,000 (c.260 days of vessel activity) |
October 2015 |
|
Trading Online Voucher Scheme |
Assist small businesses to develop/enhance their trading online capacity, for details see www.localenterprise.ie/Louth/ |
Louth |
€54,580.25 (July 2014 to date) |
Scheme is ongoing |
|
Trading Online Voucher Scheme |
Assist small businesses to develop/enhance their trading online capacity, for details see www.localenterprise.ie/Meath/ |
Meath |
€14,730.00 (July 2014 to date) |
Scheme is ongoing |
|
Estimate |
Outturn |
|
|
€000s |
€000s |
|
|
2011 |
158,000 |
123,446 |
|
2012 |
119,800 |
90,222 |
|
2013 |
95,400 |
74,750 |
|
2014 |
118,500 |
113,100 |
|
2015 |
93,600 |
84,510 |
