Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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Question 525: To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if, in order to be eligible for wall insulation under the sustainable energy grant scheme, a wall must be of a certain thickness; the requirement in millimetres; and if this requirement has been changed following Budget 2010. [3583/10]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)
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All works carried out under the Home Energy Savings 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.

The standard for Wall Insulation is to achieve a U-value of 0.27 W/m2K for external walls. Different materials have different thermal performance and so the thickness of material required is dependent on the material selected as well as the existing wall construction form and what insulation might already exist. Insulation thickness only becomes an issue in the case of dry-lining walls because with cavity wall insulation, Sustainable Energy Ireland only requires the cavity to be fully filled. Budget 2010 has not led to any modification to the requirements of the scheme.