John Cummins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I join the Cathaoirleach in wishing the Minister well. I wish him the very best when he retires. He is not quite there yet. There is plenty of work that needs to be done between now and the general election.

I offer my genuine thanks to the Minister being here this morning. This is a very important matter. I have been seeking information on it for some months to no avail, to be honest, which is why I have tabled this Commencement matter. I hope there will be a definitive response.

The community energy grant scheme is excellent. It funds community-oriented energy retrofit programmes across the country. It has been a tremendous success. I am aware of many excellent projects in my county of Waterford that have been delivered by way of the scheme. These deliver huge energy savings through a mixture of sustainable energy solutions. That is exactly what we want.

The Minister may correct me if I am wrong but I understand it operates on the basis of the Department issuing the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI, with a budget to fund the scheme. Local community organisations and clubs submit applications to SEAI with the assistance of project co-ordinators, usually regional energy agencies. These are assessed and then a letter of offer is issued with a percentage of the funding being provided to the groups. However, over recent months, I am aware of many organisations that have been waiting months for a decision. Those projects have ground to a halt. That is concerning and frustrating. The tracker on the SEAI website has not been updated since 24 January. Many bundles of projects are stuck in the "under evaluation" phase.

Some sports clubs will have sports capital funding which they are waiting to draw down but they cannot proceed with works because the energy component is a significant part of the overall project. The way the scheme is constructed, they cannot claim for works that have been done. They need to get approval first. There are many instances where clubs have the Department of sport breathing down their necks to know why they have not drawn down sports capital funding. It is because decisions are pending in the context of the energy component. Construction inflation is increasing all the time and this is adding to the cost. There are companies that will not stand over tenders because time has ticked away.

I am trying to get to the bottom of what is happening with this scheme. Is it the case that the Department has given the funding to the SEAI? Is the SEAI not releasing the funding to the energy agencies to allow them to give it to local community organisations? What exactly is happening? When will clubs and community organisations that have these much-needed projects ready to go with contractors be able to commence them? The scheme is excellent, but it is not acceptable that there is such a delay in allocating the resources which the Department has rightly provided.