John Deasy (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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Question 127: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the warmer homes initiative which was piloted in Waterford City and County, was oversubscribed; if he intends providing additional funding to ensure that those applicants who were turned down due to lack of funding, will now have heating systems installed; his plans to make the warmer homes initiative a permanent programme available throughout the State; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19214/07]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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The national fuel scheme, administered by my Department, is aimed at assisting householders on long-term social welfare or health service executive payments with meeting the cost of their additional heating needs during the winter season. Fuel allowances are paid for 29 weeks from end-September to mid-April and are not intended to meet the full cost of heating. Some 274,000 people benefited from the fuel allowance in 2006 at a cost of €125m.

As a consequence of the increase in rate and the increase in the income threshold for eligibility as announced in the 2007 Budget, annual expenditure on the scheme in 2007 will increase by some €36 million, bringing the estimated total cost in 2007 to over €161m. Given the significant annual cost of the fuel allowance, Budget 2006 provided for a grant of €2m to Sustainable Energy Ireland for fuel poverty research. The rationale was that while my Department was making considerable payments to people to meet their heating needs through primary social welfare payments and the Fuel Allowance scheme, the benefit of these payments was considerably offset where people were living in poorly insulated homes. The budget grant was intended to complement the Fuel Poverty Action Research Project which is being carried out in Cork and Donegal in a joint operation funded entirely by Combat Poverty Agency and Sustainable Energy Ireland.

Sustainable Energy Ireland are using the €2m grant to undertake a project for owner occupied dwellings in Waterford city and county. The work includes both insulation and heating measures (a "whole house" approach) and is broader in approach than their current Warmer Homes Scheme which provides insulation only. The grant is to cover the cost of setting up the project, arranging for remedial work to be carried out on approximately 460 houses, conducting research surveys, analysing the resultant data and submission of a formal report.

The grant of €2m to SEI is a once-off payment for research purposes. Sustainable Energy Ireland has advised that the number of households requesting intervention under this project was greater than the 460 houses for which funding is available. There are no plans to provide additional funding to expand this initiative — the report on the current project has yet to be compiled and due to be completed by the end of 2007.

The Deputy might like to note that the Department of Health and Children have a "House improvements for Older People Scheme". This scheme allows the H.S.E. to carry out essential repairs and maintenance to houses that are occupied by older people to improve their living conditions.