Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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Question 150: To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if his attention has been drawn to the delays in processing the warmer homes scheme, which is delivered through Sustainable Energy Ireland to provide insulation works for vulnerable citizens, those on long-term jobseeker's allowance, the elderly and those with disabilities; if his further attention has been drawn to the fact that there is an undue delay 12 months or more for an initial assessment to be carried out and a delay of between 12 months and two years for applicants who have been approved and are awaiting completion of the works; if he is satisfied with the current process; his plans to ensure SEI's administrative process deals with applications in an appropriate timeframe; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13135/12]

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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Better Energy: Warmer Homes delivers a range of energy efficiency measures to households that are vulnerable to energy poverty. The scheme is managed by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) and delivered through a range of Community Based Organisations (CBOs), augmented by a panel of private contractors in order to ensure national coverage.

The SEAI has recently renewed the contracts with 26 of the network of CBOs and hopes to conclude negotiations with the remainder at the earliest possible opportunity. In addition, an Invitation to Tender was recently published by the SEAI to establish a new panel of private contractors to augment this network. The public procurement process through the Official Journal of the European Union will take a number of weeks to conclude and a panel should be in place in May.

The SEAI advises that there are a total of 10,729 homes on the national waiting list as of 29 February 2012. Service delivery plans, within the available 2012 budget, are currently being finalised. Households on the waiting list on 31 December 2011 will be retrofitted according to their position on the waiting list. 65% on the waiting list are on the list six months or less.

There are 423 applications that date back to 2010 (approximately 4% of the overall list). In the majority of cases efforts have been made by the SEAI or the relevant CBO to make contact with the homeowner or to survey the property. The SEAI are in the process of writing to all the remaining homes currently on the list for more than one year with a view to confirming, or otherwise, their interest and eligibility for the scheme and to prioritise those valid and interested householders for delivery.

2012 will mark a shift in emphasis on the Better Energy: Warmer Homes scheme to take account of the Government's Affordable Energy Strategy, which I launched last November. Heretofore, applicants were considered eligible for retrofit measures if they met defined criteria, such as eligibility for the National Fuel Scheme. All successful applicants were placed on a waiting list and addressed in rotation. The focus in 2012 will shift to addressing those households identified as being in extreme energy poverty as a priority; such households typically spend over 20% of their disposable income on energy services. This will ensure that those most in need receive the benefit of energy efficiency measures first.