Under the terms and conditions of the Renewable Electricity Support Scheme all projects supported by the scheme must establish a Community Benefit Fund. This is to ensure that the local community receives actual direct benefits from the renewable project located in their locality. The Department has already committed to the publication of a Good Practice Principles Handbook by July 2021. This will lay out a range of principles, including guidance on how the new funds will be managed and administered and the need to ensure community participation in fund decision-making via the establishment of a local committee, which should encourage successful local dispersal of funds.
There is already a commitment in place to set up a national register of the benefit funds and their outputs and the Department is committed to standards of governance, accountability and reporting in accordance with international best practice. The Department and the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland are now developing a draft of this handbook which will be made available for public consultation well in advance of its final publication.
