Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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Question 47: To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if he will guarantee that all eligible households on the waiting list for warmer homes scheme in County Mayo will have all the required work carried out by an agreed date. [39089/11]

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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Better Energy: Warmer Homes delivers a range of energy efficiency measures to households which are vulnerable to energy poverty. Energy efficiency improvements have been made in over 75,000 low-income homes to date under the programme. There are currently 8,546 homes nationwide on the Better Energy: Warmer Homes' waiting list, of which 770 are in County Mayo.

I published the Affordable Energy Strategy on 27 November 2011, which includes a commitment to reform the eligibility criteria of Better Energy: Warmer Homes in order to ensure that households experiencing extreme energy poverty are prioritised. This will take effect from 1 January 2012.

The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) is working towards a six-month timeframe for service delivery of homes that remain on the waiting list in all counties. Homes will be completed in the order in which they are allocated to Community Based Organisations, and subject to budgetary availability. Queries in relation to individual applications are an operational matter for the SEAI and a dedicated hotline for the scheme is available (Better Energy: Warmer Homes hotline - 1800 250 204). In addition, the SEAI has recently established a specific email address for queries from Oireachtas members which can be sent to oireachtas@seai.ie and will be dealt with promptly.