Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 31 May 2005
235 Mr. Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources his plans to institute a scheme to grant-aid individual housing units and refurbishments which demonstrate sustainable energy practices; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17980/05]
Amharc ar fhreagra236 Mr. Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources the reason that the house of tomorrow scheme, administered by Sustainable Energy Ireland, cannot apply to individual housing units and refurbishments. [17981/05]
Amharc ar fhreagra237 Mr. Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources if he will increase funding available under the house of tomorrow scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17982/05]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 235 to 237, inclusive, together.
Sustainable Energy Ireland, SEI, which was established as a statutory agency in May 2002, implements a wide variety of programmes on energy efficiency and renewable energy on behalf of my Department.
Under SEI's house of tomorrow research, development and demonstration programme, financial support is directed at encouraging developers of housing, both new-build and refurbishment, to incorporate design and technology features that deliver significantly superior energy and CO2 performance. By targeting developers of schemes of houses, from the private or social housing sectors, the aim is to establish, over several years, a nationwide network of accessible examples of more sustainable energy design and technology practices. Accompanied by other promotional measures by SEI, this is intended to encourage a sufficient degree of market replication, without subsidy, to elevate energy performance standards across the wider housing stock. This targeted approach is also designed to be an administratively efficient method for deployment of public moneys.
To date the programme has committed more than €7.5 million to 39 projects comprising a total of 1,818 housing units, all featuring an integrated approach to energy supply and use that achieves performance at least 20% better than current building regulations. In fact, in the majority of projects, the performance is 40% better.
As stated, the programme has been directed at suppliers and developers of housing, rather than individual householders. There are two main reasons for this. First, house of tomorrow is a research and development support scheme, not a home improvement grants scheme. It seeks projects of sufficient scale and impact to influence wide application of the practices and technologies demonstrated. An effective way to achieve this is by means of clusters of homes, which will provide regionally visible and accessible examples that can be replicated. Overall, integrated developments are encouraged.
Second, a key need in moving towards more energy efficient planning and construction practices in Irish homes is to develop the necessary awareness and capability within the construction industry. SEI, through its consumer awareness programmes, seeks to increase the demand for energy efficiency amongst homeowners and occupants. House of tomorrow, as a research, development and demonstration programme supports the development and demonstration of capability in the industry to deliver higher quality energy efficient homes to meet such a demand. The aim is to increase standards and practices across the industry as a whole.
Regular reviews are conducted on all SEI's funding programmes. In this context, it may be possible to give consideration to developing a grant scheme, as part of this programme, which would make money available to individual householders in respect of specific sustainable energy features. Factors entering any such consideration include the establishment of consumer product standards, supplier capability and installation quality assurance systems appropriate to consumer markets. This is in addition to the core requirements of energy and CO2 saving impact, market impact potential, administrative efficiency and ultimately, value for money for the taxpayer.
Funding for SEI is determined on an annual basis. SEI submits a proposed work programme for the coming year along with a budget for each of its programmes, such as the house of tomorrow programme, to my Department. Any increase in funding required for these programmes would have budgetary implications and could only be considered in the light of the overall budgetary requirements of SEI and the level of funding available to my Department.
