John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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Question 166: To ask the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources the innovative grant schemes he intends introducing relating to biofuels, combined heat and power, biomass commercial heaters, and domestic renewable heat grants in budget 2006; and the amount of money which will be available for such schemes in 2006. [2189/06]

Noel Dempsey (Meath, Fianna Fail)
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I am strongly committed to increasing the market penetration of renewable energy and the measures announced in budget 2006 are designed to complement and build on initiatives already in place in the renewable electricity, transport and heat sectors. The multi-annual financial package includes a five-year biofuels excise relief package worth €205 million and funding for renewable energy schemes totalling €65 million up to2010.

The renewables package will support development in four critical areas as follows: biofuels — an excise relief package for biofuels costing €205 million over five years, together with funding to support the development of indigenous biofuel plant; biomass — a grant scheme for wood chip and wood pellet boilers, aimed at the business, commercial and service sectors; grants for householders — a grant aid package for the domestic sector, which will provide for individual grants to install renewable energy technologies including wood pellet boilers, solar panels and geothermal heat pumps; and combined heat and power — a grant aid package to incentivise the installation of combined heat and power in the industrial, commercial and public services sector. The level of funding to be committed to these schemes in 2006 and annually up to 2010 will be finalised in the coming weeks.