Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 11 October 2018
179. Deputy Maurice Quinlivan asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment his plans to roll out the warmth and wellbeing scheme on a nationwide basis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41577/18]
View answerThe Warmth & Wellbeing scheme is a joint policy initiative between my Department and the Department of Health and is being delivered under the Government’s Strategy to Combat Energy Poverty and the Healthy Ireland Framework. The main aim of the scheme, which began in 2016 is to validate, in an Irish context, the strong international evidence that making homes warmer, drier and more energy efficient can have on the health and wellbeing of people vulnerable to energy poverty, who are living with chronic respiratory conditions.
The scheme is currently available in the HSE Community Health Area 7 in Dublin postal areas 8, 10, 12, 22 and 24, and my department is engaging with the health authorities to examine implementation in areas with characteristics of rural areas, with different settlement pattern a housing stock. The initial 3 year phase of the scheme will conclude at the end of this year, with the full allocation of €20m being spent and nearly 1,000 homes upgraded. There is already strong evidence of benefits of these upgrades to the health and wellbeing of participants. There are two strands to decision making around the future of the Warmth and Wellbeing approach, relating to health and energy. From the health perspective, the measurement and evaluation of the data gathered from participants is necessary to validate the effectiveness of energy efficiency improvements in supporting better health outcomes. From the energy perspective, an effective delivery infrastructure has been established by SEAI and the HSE in the pilot area, but more does need to be learned on the ground about how to scale this up, not least in the context of how we ramp up to meet the level of ambition in the NDP. Based on the outcomes of this first phase I will be considering the optimal next steps, bearing in mind that the quality of the client experience must be the first priority in any consideration of a wider roll out.
