Michael Colreavy (Sligo-North Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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112. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if there will be a proposed increase in funding for retrofitting, as part of the energy White Paper. [23136/15]

Alex White (Dublin South, Labour)
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The overarching objective of the Government's energy policy is to ensure secure and sustainable supplies of competitively priced energy to all consumers. My Department is working on a new energy policy White Paper which will set out Ireland’s energy policy up to 2030. I aim to publish the White Paper in October. In regard to its energy efficiency aspects, eliminating waste and the targeting of improved energy efficiency will be key to our transition to a sustainable energy future.

Through the better energy homes programme which provides grant support for householders who undertake energy efficiency improvements, 167,443 homes have undertaken energy efficiency retrofits, with a total Government investment of €174 million.

Additionally, under the Better Energy Warmer Homes programme, 115,223 homes in energy poverty have received free energy efficiency improvements with a total Government investment of almost €138 million. A further 9,644 homes have received energy efficiency upgrades under the Better Energy Areas and Communities Programme, with €46.8 million of Government funds invested. In total, almost one sixth of all homes in the country have received a Government-supported energy efficiency upgrade.

In March of this year, I announced an increase in the level of financial support available to householders under the Better Energy Warmer Homes scheme. The cash value of every grant available to householders was increased by between 25% and 50%. In addition, a bonus payment was introduced which sees householders receive a bonus payment if they complete three or more energy efficiency improvements. The minimum grant threshold was also abolished.

Resourcing of measures that will be set out in the energy policy White Paper will be considered in the context of the normal budgetary discussions with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and as the development of the White Paper is finalised over the coming months.

Michael Colreavy (Sligo-North Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister for his reply. Retrofitting houses is certainly a good investment and any increase in the amount going towards it will certainly pay big dividends, not just for those whose houses are being retrofitted but also for society at large. It is guaranteed to reduce energy dependence.

The need for such work should be assessed, particularly in rural houses many of which have non-cavity walls. We should try to gauge the scale involved in order that we can measure the percentage needed to hit the target.

Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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I had a question on the energy area earlier. The Minister said the White Paper will be produced in September but will it include a review of the effectiveness of the Commission for Energy Regulation? I have tried to ask the Minister that question many times but the Ceann Comhairle rules it out saying it is not the Minister's responsibility. However, it clearly is the Minister's responsibility to invigilate the CER and see if it is delivering.

We have almost 3,000 excess deaths each year due to fuel poverty, which affects many people. The retrofitting programme is helping but a significant number of people spend up to 10% of their income or more on fuel. Given that they are enduring fuel poverty, will the Minister re-examine the CER? In correspondence with the Minister I indicated that the mathematical model the CER uses for setting gas and other fuel prices needs to be looked at. As the Minister knows, it has been criticised in some economic journals. I have received voluminous correspondence from the CER, but a thorough invigilation of the commission should be at the heart of the Minister's White Paper.

Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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Retrofitting should apply to some of the old local authority estates, both urban and rural. Deputy Colreavy mentioned non-cavity walls and some of those houses were built as mass concrete buildings 50 or 60 years ago. There is a major issue of heat loss, even with some of the newer local authority housing estates that were built 25 or 30 years ago. Any retrofitting programme should apply to those houses in the first instance because it would help to deal with fuel poverty, as Deputy Broughan mentioned. Such houses need to be fully retrofitted at this stage. I have seen graphs and figures from experts in this field, which show that if a house is properly retrofitted, heat loss can be reduced by one third or even a half. It will have a big impact on fuel consumption and, consequently, energy needs.

Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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An extraordinary number of houses in the country have been built with 9 in. cavity walls. Such a cavity can carry damp across. The outside walls may be pebble-dashed, but it makes such a difference to those houses if a 30 mm baton is introduced on the inside, with insulation and a new slab over it.

It is possible to paint over the slab. If a builder does it properly it makes the house far more snug. A 9 in. cavity was not designed to keep out the moisture or cold, yet an extraordinary number of houses have been built with 9 in. cavities. They were still at it right up to the end of the 1980s.

Alex White (Dublin South, Labour)
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Certainly Deputy Wallace's expertise is welcome and I have taken a note of what he has said. It is most helpful, as are the insights from other colleagues. As Deputy Colreavy said, it is right that we should have a sense, as best we can, of the extent of the issue. Deputy Moynihan also mentioned the point about older local authority schemes.

The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland does a great deal of work in this area. As I mentioned earlier, I re-launched the Better Energy Warmer Homes initiative last March. The SEAI is progressing a number of innovations which could assist in respect of the point the Deputies have made. These include the idea of a better green energy star - a quality rating system; the proposal that we should engage more with local actors, such as credit unions and local authorities and so on, to promote community level action; that we should target an advertising campaign for solar, thermal, boiler and heating controls; that we should target public relations and radio promotions in areas of low coverage - Leinster is an area of low coverage, by the way; that we should target home owners who have done shallow retrofits or those with expired applications; that we should review a declaration of works; that we should carry out a survey of expired home owner grants, and so on. These practical innovations from the SEAI would address many of the issues that have been raised in the House.

I had not anticipated the question on the regulator. The regulator is an independent statutory body. If Deputy Broughan has any commentary or insights on the matter or on any aspect of our energy policy I would be happy to consider them in the context of the energy White Paper. We are getting close now, as Deputy Colreavy and Deputy Moynihan will know, because they have debated this issue in the House before. I would certainly be glad to hear any insights that the Deputies have in respect of any of these matters for the energy White Paper.