Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 21 February 2024
34. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if he is aware of the situation whereby the SEAI will not disburse grants from its better homes scheme to holders of credit union accounts and if he has engaged with the SEAI in relation to same. [8120/24]
View answerThe Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) manage a number of residential and community energy upgrade grant support schemes on behalf of my Department. SEAI operate their schemes within a specified governance framework with a set of rules determining eligibility for grant support. Accordingly, these schemes have terms and conditions in place to ensure the effective and transparent administration of public monies. Achieving this requires that the processes and systems are clear and efficient and operate in a manner which is clear and fair to all applicants.
Following enquiries by officials of my Department, SEAI has confirmed its systems accept and process payments to Irish Credit Union Accounts. SEAI advises the following process is in place for homeowners applying for grant support:
• At the point of applying for a grant on the SEAI online portal the applicant is not asked to select their bank details.
• Once the application is submitted online, SEAI will send out the required paperwork the next day by post, this paperwork includes a Request for Payment form.
• This is the point at which the bank or credit union payment details are requested of the applicant.
• The bank payee details are entered at the point of requesting grant payment and are entered on to SEAI's system by the SEAI teams based on information supplied by homeowners on their paperwork.
The SEAI helpdesk (ph: 01 8082012) is also available to homeowners seeking further assistance with regard to the applications.
