Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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784. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide an estimate of the costs to be incurred by his Department in respect of administering the new conservation grant; the reason this new project was not put out to public tender; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14279/15]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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An allocation of €130m for the grant scheme has been provided in my Department’s Estimate for 2015 which is intended to cover grant payments and all administration costs including staffing.

This is based on an estimate of up to 1.3 million households applying for the grant. This estimated level of demand for 2015 takes account of the number of primary residences recorded in Census 2011 as well as experiences with other demand-led schemes. The provisions required in future years will be determined as part of the annual budgetary process, having regard to the take-up of the scheme and forecast growth in household numbers.

The Department of Social Protection will administer the grant on behalf of my Department. Any tendering for services required in order to facilitate the payment of the grant is therefore a matter for that Department. A budget for the administrative costs associated with the payment of the grant will be finalised following the completion of the procurement processes.

The grant will be paid in one instalment to all eligible households from September 2015 and on an annual basis thereafter. During late August and September all households that have registered with Irish Water on or before the 30 of June 2015 will receive a notice from the Department of Social Protection on how to apply for the Water Conservation Grant. A dedicated website has also been established which provides information in relation to the grant.