Mr. Seamus McCarthy:

The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, which was established in May 2002, works with Irish households, businesses, communities and the Government with the objective of creating a cleaner and more efficient energy future and supporting the development of clean energy technologies. The authority's income in 2020 totalled €150.7 million, down from €182.4 million in 2019. In 2020, €145.5 million, or almost 97% of the authority's income, came from Exchequer cash grants via the Vote for Environment, Climate and Communications. Expenditure in 2020 amounted to €151.6 million. Approximately 88% of this expenditure was incurred in a wide range of grant schemes, details of which are provided in note 7 to the financial statements.

The authority also has responsibility for oversight of the building energy rating, or BER, system. This includes registration of BER assessors, the provision of related information technology tools and systems, the BER national register and overall scheme management and promotion. BER scheme income for the year was €2.76 million, with expenditure on scheme activities amounting to €2.4 million. The authority’s expenditure on administration amounted to €15.7 million in 2020.

I certified the 2020 financial statements on 29 June 2021 and issued a clear audit opinion. Given the nature of the authority’s main activity as a grant giver, key value for money issues include the extent to which relevant output and outcome targets are set for each of the grant programmes, whether the authority has adequate systems in place to measure and report on the outputs and outcomes achieved relative to measured baselines and whether scarce Exchequer resources are being applied in ways that maximise the long-term benefits to Irish society.