Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 6, 22 and 37 together.

I intend to publish the national energy efficiency action plan in the next four weeks. This second action plan reaffirms Ireland’s commitment to a 20% energy savings target in 2020 in pursuit of our EU obligations. This is equivalent to 31,925 GWh or a reduction in annual CO2 emissions of 7.7 Mt. The actions outlined in the plan are projected to realise 34,060 GWh of energy savings in 2020, which is equivalent to a 21.1% saving on the baseline period and an overachievement of 1.1%.

Energy efficiency is internationally recognised as one of the most cost-effective means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This was confirmed in the National Economic and Social Council secretariat interim report, Towards a New National Climate Policy, which identified energy efficiency as a key route to carbon efficiency and a spur to economic growth. Energy efficiency thus forms an integral element of the national climate change adaptation framework published in December 2012 and specifically the transition to a competitive low carbon economy which is being led by the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government. The soon to be published heads of a climate Bill will direct the preparation of a national low carbon roadmap and sectoral roadmaps, as well as climate adaptation planning.

The forthcoming national energy efficiency action plan will contain 97 actions, each of which will play a part in securing a more sustainable energy future for Ireland. Of the 97 actions, the following five will play an integral role in the delivery of the national target. We will introduce a series of obligations on public sector bodies to address consumption, procurement and reporting of energy use. We will institute a national energy performance contracting process to deliver innovative models of retrofitting and financing of energy efficiency measures in the commercial and public sectors. This will be underpinned by an energy efficiency fund to which the Government has already committed €35 million in the 2013 budget as seed capital. We will introduce an appropriate pay-as-you-save model for Ireland to replace existing Exchequer supports for domestic and non-domestic energy efficiency upgrade measures. The better energy programme will deliver energy efficiency improvements across a number of sectors including energy saving targets for energy suppliers. A cross-departmental implementation group will soon be established to ensure that all the actions contained in this plan are delivered. Should all the measures set out in the plan reach their full potential by 2020, it is estimated that a potential reduction in energy spend across all sectors of approximately €2.36 billion, at 2011 prices, will be realised. A significant element of this will be Exchequer savings in the public sector.

The new energy efficiency directive sets out the policy roadmap for the period to 2020. We face significant challenges in meeting our efficiency targets, not least of which is the finance necessary to underwrite the scale of retrofit required in our building stock.

My Department is prioritising work on the transposition of the new obligations in our national law so we can all reap the benefits of sustainable employment, growth and future investment.

The action plan and the programme for Government include a commitment to roll out a pay-as-you-save, PAYS, energy retrofit scheme for domestic buildings after 2013. The PAYS scheme proposes that the current suite of Exchequer funded grants for energy efficiency measures, excluding the low-income housing retrofit programme, will be replaced by a comprehensive national energy efficiency scheme open to households and commercial operators. This scheme will allow consumers to secure up-front financing for energy efficiency upgrades, the repayment of which will be funded from savings on their energy bill generated from the retrofit.

I am pleased to report that my Department, with the assistance of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, has put a project team in place, staffed with a wide range of industry experts, to deliver a project design to Government in 2013 which will include technical, legislative and financial aspects of the design of a PAYS model in the Irish context. The project team will be engaging widely with stakeholders as part of this development work, after which I will bring forward proposals to Government later this year.

In the interim, the Government has committed in excess of €50 million in capital funding for the Better Energy programme in 2013, which will principally involve expenditure across the better energy homes, better energy warmer homes and better energy communities schemes. These schemes are administered by the SEAI and further details are available on its website. It is also my intention to establish urgently the energy efficiency fund, based on the €35 million seed capital to which I referred earlier. This funding, to be augmented by significant private sector financing, has the potential to finance significant additional retrofit works in both the public and the private sectors. Urgent work is being progressed in consultation with other Departments and NewERA to progress this initiative.

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