Thomas Pringle (Donegal South West, Independent)
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16. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources his plans to introduce a renewable heat initiative to companies and-or homeowners that generate and use renewable energy to heat their buildings, as is done in the UK; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10461/15]

Joe McHugh (Donegal North East, Fine Gael)
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The Minister published a Draft Bioenergy Plan in October 2014 which will undergo Strategic Environmental and Appropriate Assessments to inform the content of the finalised Plan. These assessment processes will commence shortly. The draft Plan sets out the broader context for the development of Ireland’s biomass sector, and the current status with regard to the range of policy areas that must be coordinated in order to create the conditions necessary to support the development of this sector.

The analysis underpinning the draft Plan is that an additional bioenergy focussed measure in the heat sector would represent the most cost effective means of meeting a number of different policy goals including reducing the emerging gap, in terms of meeting our 2020 Renewable Heat target, anticipated in the heat sector. Accordingly, the draft Plan recommends the introduction of a Renewable Heat Incentive to incentivise larger heat users in the industrial and commercial sector to change to heating solutions that produce heat from renewable sources in order to deliver the additional heat required in the context of meeting 12% of heat demand from renewable sources by 2020. There are no plans at this time to introduce such a scheme for domestic heat users.

The design of the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme will commence this year and will include public consultation, the first stage of which will be launched shortly. The consultation process will seek views on a range of issues including the technologies that should be included. Once designed, it will require State Aid clearance from the European Commission and further Government approval. Subject to these approvals, it is proposed to have the scheme in place in 2016.