Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The focus on programme C is on the delivery of key elements of Government energy policy. The programme provides €9.4 million to cover the operational costs of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI, and more than €98 million in capital funding for sustainable energy and energy research programmes. In excess of €70 million has been provided for the better energy grant schemes operated by the SEAI. The sustainable energy measures include the better energy home scheme for home owners investing in energy efficiency improvements, the better energy warmer homes scheme which delivers a range of energy efficient measures free of charge to low-income households, and the better energy community scheme which encourages community-based partnership to improve the thermal and electrical efficiency of the building stock and energy poor homes. These three energy efficiency schemes are expected to deliver savings of more than 182 GW in 2017 and provide around 8,200 low-income homes with energy efficiency measures while continuing to stimulate activity in the retrofit industry, supporting approximately 3,000 jobs, the majority of which are in provincial towns in rural Ireland. The overall energy programme also provides funding to incentivise the purchase of electric vehicles along with investment in applied energy research, development and demonstration projects, including ocean energy.