Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Question 106: To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if he will provide figures for the numbers on waiting lists for the home energy saving scheme and the warmer homes scheme; if he will provide numbers for homes in both schemes in 2008, 2009 and to date in 2010; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37805/10]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)
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The Home Energy Saving scheme (HES) and Warmer Homes Scheme (WHS) are both administered by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) on behalf on my Department.

The WHS was established to address poor thermal efficiency performance in low-income housing. The scheme is delivered at no cost to homeowners through a combination of community based organisations (CBOs) alongside a panel of private contractors. The SEAI and the CBOs identify and address vulnerable homes, in partnership with local networks of community support and poverty organisations, which include public health nurses, MABS and the Society of St. Vincent De Paul. Each CBO is responsible for managing applications in their operational areas and the SEAI is not directly involved in the application process in these areas.

The waiting time for the WHS varies, and is generally between 3 and 6 months. The SEAI, with the combined use of CBOs and contractors is actively working towards reducing waiting time for the scheme, making it as accessible as possible to those in most need and providing a consistent delivery of the scheme nationwide.

5,343 homes were upgraded under the Scheme in 2008, 16,240 homes were upgraded in 2009, and 15,764 homes have been upgraded to date in 2010.

The HES scheme provides grant assistance to homeowners for energy efficiency measures. Homeowners can apply online and receive same day grant approval, once key eligibility criteria are met. All payments are made by Electronic Funds Transfer and all notifications are by email (for online applicants) with the exception of Declarations of Work, which require the signatures of both homeowner and contractor to draw down approved funds.

There is a parallel postal system for homeowners applying under HES without access to the online system. The commitment that the SEAI gives is that postal applications will be processed within 21 days. I am advised by the SEAI that in practice the typical turnaround for such applications is one week. The average turnaround time for all requests for payment is four to five weeks.

18,155 homeowners received grants under HES since its inception in 2009, while to date in 2010 a further 34,342 homeowners have received grants from the SEAI.

The SEAI continuously reviews the operations of all its grant schemes with a view to ensuring optimum efficiency and effectiveness and any opportunities to reduce the grant payment times are pursued in full.