Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)

The home energy saving scheme implemented by Sustainable Energy Ireland, SEI, will make grant assistance generally available from next year to householders to install energy efficiency measures. The objective of the scheme is to significantly reduce energy use and emissions in the residential sector by incentivising households to upgrade the energy performance of their homes. I launched the scheme on a pilot basis earlier this year in a selected number of areas and with a budget of €5 million.

Under the pilot phase, grant aid is being provided for cavity wall insulation, wall lining insulation, external insulation, attic insulation, heating controls and low emission double glazing. The results of the pilot phase are informing the design of the national roll-out of the scheme in 2009, for which provision of €20 million has been made in my budget. First results from the pilot phase indicate that the targeted supports can bring a house from an F-rating starting point on the building energy rating scale to a D2 rating. This represents an energy saving of up to €700 per year for each house, equating to reduced carbon emissions of 3 tonnes per year.

The warmer homes scheme is overseen by Sustainable Energy Ireland and is delivered principally through community-based organisations. There now are 20 such groups currently approved by Sustainable Energy Ireland. The scheme is targeted at households on low income. The warmer homes scheme installs insulation, draught proofing measures and energy saving light bulbs. Advice is also provided to householders on minimising energy use. These measures are provided free or at a nominal cost. Householders in receipt of energy efficiency improvements under the scheme potentially can reduce energy consumption by up to 60%, depending on the number of measures implemented and their energy behaviour.

I doubled the funding for the warmer homes scheme this year, allowing for a corresponding doubling of the number of homes upgraded this year to 5,000. Funding of €10 million has been made available for this scheme in 2009, which includes a total contribution of €5 million between the ESB and Bord Gáis. This will allow for a significant further extension of the scheme.

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