Mary Wallace (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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Question 204: To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the grant support available under the home energy savings scheme; the list of works covered by the scheme, the grant aid applicable to those works, the application process and timeframes for the scheme; the way the new standard rate tax relief available on expenditure up to €10,000 will complement the existing scheme; if the list of approved works is the same; if he will give examples of the way the scheme and the tax relief will work together; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47528/10]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)
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The Home Energy Saving (HES) scheme is administered by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) on behalf on my Department. The scheme is available to householders who want to update the energy efficiency of their home, and offers grants of up to 40% of the typical cost of upgrade measures. The following table outlines the eligible measures under the scheme, and the grant aid available for each measure.

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.

A postal system operates in parallel with the online system for homeowners applying under HES without Internet access. 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. The details of the tax relief scheme announced by the Minister for Finance in the Budget speech are being finalised at present and will be published in the Finance Bill. It is intended that the tax relief scheme will complement the HES programme.