Written answers

Tuesday, 24 November 2009

Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources

Departmental Schemes

9:00 pm

Photo of Paul KehoePaul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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Question 464: To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if there is a certain level of thickness in the walls whereby a person (details supplied) would not be eligible for the sustainable energy grant for their walls. [42566/09]

Photo of Eamon RyanEamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)
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I am advised by Sustainable Energy Ireland that there is no record of a Home Energy Saving (HES) Scheme grant application by the persons referred to by the Deputy.

The HES Scheme provides grant assistance to homeowners for retro-fit energy efficiency measures such as attic and wall insulation, very high- efficiency boilers, heating controls and Building Energy Rating (BER) assessments. While a householder is free to choose which measures to install in his or her home, the householder must undertake works attracting grant payments of at least €500, not including the BER grant.

The scheme, which is open to all householders in homes built before 2006, is stimulating the upgrade of a significant number of homes to the optimum standard achievable and to date approximately 31,000 households have been grant approved.

All works carried out under the scheme are underpinned by a comprehensive Technical Specification and Code of Practice for contractors which ensure that works undertaken represent best value for each homeowner's investment and also best value for all public monies expended.

In general, all products used must be fit for purpose, improve the energy efficiency of the building and have no detrimental impact on the structure, viability, quality or safety of the property. All insulation products must meet relevant product standards. One underlying objective of this Scheme is to put in place materials that will achieve a level of performance in the home, equivalent to the standard required in the most recent update of Part L of the Building Regulations. Thus, the objective for Wall Insulation is in as much as is physically and economically feasible, achieve a U-value of 0.27 W/m2K for external walls. The inability of a homeowner to commit to undertaking works to the requisite specification would preclude their qualification for the grant.

Contractors must ensure that, in the case of insulation, an optimal whole-surface solution is provided where physically and economically feasible e.g. this comprises internal or external insulation of all walls exposed; or in the case of roof insulation that this comprises insulation of the whole surface of the ceiling/roof-space as appropriate. All grant applicants are required to use a Sustainable Energy Ireland (SEI) registered contractor and in applying accept that their application relates to works which are economically and physically practicable and which will secure the optimal energy efficiency improvements to its home.

Partial works are only accepted in very exceptional circumstances e.g. where it is not physically possible to provide complete roof insulation coverage due to small inaccessible areas of the roof, or where a home may require significant additional modifications over what would normally be expected and that such modifications would make the initial investment inappropriate compared to the benefit the homeowner will get out of the investment. Where only part-home coverage is achieved, this must be detailed in the Declaration of Works (grant request) and the contractor must inform the customer that this may impact on their ability to draw down support from the scheme.

Taking this approach ensures that the homeowners gets best value for their money and that the Exchequer gets best leverage for its investment.

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