Patricia Ryan (Kildare South, Sinn Fein)
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12. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if there are any continuous supports for elderly people who are dependent on electric-powered medical devices with regard to constant increased and unaffordable energy bills (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52625/23]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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Budget 2024 introduced a total €2.2 billion suite of once-off Cost of Living supports, to assist families, pensioners, carers and people with disabilities.

The Budget package includes a new Electricity Cost Emergency Benefit Scheme through which €412.83 (exclusive of VAT) will be credited to each domestic electricity account in three payments of €137.61 (exclusive of VAT) in each of the following billing periods - December 2023, January/February 2024 and March/April 2024. The estimated cost of this scheme is €1.007 billion.

Through the Submeter Support Scheme, three payments of €137.61 (exclusive of VAT) will also be paid to supplier submeter accounts, identified by suppliers, which cannot receive payments under Scheme III.

Under the Solar PV for medically vulnerable Scheme, grant support will be provided to approximately 4,000 customers on the priority services register to install solar PV systems at their homes.

In addition, vulnerable customers who are critically dependent on electrically powered equipment, cannot be disconnected for non-payment of account at any time.It is important that people who are in such situations contact their energy supplier to register with them as a vulnerable customer. Their energy supplier will then notify ESB Networks, which maintains a Vulnerable Customer Register.

Suppliers are also required to ensure that all registered vulnerable customers are on the most economic tariff available for their chosen payment method and billing format.

In recent weeks, price reductions between 9 and 30% have been announced by SSE Airtricity, Energia, Pinergy, Electric Ireland, Prepay Power, Flogas and Bord Gáis Energy who share approximately 98% of both the retail electricity market and the retail gas market in Ireland.

Customers can expect to see this reflected in retail bills (for households and businesses) received from this month.

Patricia Ryan (Kildare South, Sinn Fein)
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13. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment his views on the doubling of the cost recently of alternative heating materials, for example, wood pellet stoves (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52626/23]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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As Minister, I have no role or function in determining the retail price of wood pellets or other solid fuels. However, my Department will continue to examine the need for policies to increase the use of wood and wood products in climate change mitigation and adaptation.

In order to reduce the carbon footprint of domestic heating, the National Heat Study, published in February 2022, found that heat pumps are the optimal decarbonisation path for domestic heating systems, with district heating also identified as a competitive option that can be widely deployed. These approaches are being prioritised by Government.

To facilitate the use of these technologies in the decarbonisation and overall energy use needs of our building stock, the Government has established a Heat and Built Environment Delivery Taskforce and will publish a new Heat Policy Statement to guide the Government’s overall response to the National Heat Study across all sectors.