Paddy McHugh (Galway East, Independent)
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Question 850: To ask the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources if further to his announcement of the greener home grant for people installing energy efficient systems in their homes that allowances would be made for people who had foresight and had already installed the energy efficient systems in their home before his announcement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28477/06]

Noel Dempsey (Meath, Fianna Fail)
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One of the key objectives of the grant scheme is to stimulate the market for domestic renewable technologies and to encourage people to purchase and install renewable technologies, who might not otherwise have done so, because of associated capital costs. The Deputy will appreciate that, as with any grants scheme, there has to be some reference date and start point and in the case of the Greener Homes scheme, as with other schemes of this nature, the relevant date is the date of launch of the scheme which was 27 March 2006. The key determinant is that no work has been initiated prior to the launch date and also that no money has been paid prior to an application being approved by SEI.

The position in respect of eligibility for grant support is clear and is outlined in the range of documentation on the Sustainable Energy Ireland (SEI) website, in addition to the letter of offer which is issued to applicants. It is important, in the interests of transparency to apply the rules of the scheme in a uniform and consistent manner.