Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for those questions. The most practical way in which we will be assisting the SEAI is by doubling the budget of last year. It is also worth pointing out that there are about 35 community-based organisations that actively promote the scheme. They are embedded in their communities and have very good reach. The Deputy rightly points to the sorts of people who might not be familiar with the advantages of the scheme but, with the double budget, we will obviously be in a position to reach more. The information will be spread as effectively as possible. There are 300 sustainable energy communities today, and they are building steadily.

The second element is, of course, the area-based scheme, which is related to innovation. The idea is to consolidate the delivery of both advice and the work, so there will be much more of a turnkey arrangement and an area-based scheme in which both those in social homes and those who are not could participate.

We hope that the area-based scheme will make it easier for people to engage and be a more efficient way to deliver the work.

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