Minister advised to 'steer clear' of €100 electricity credit funding specifics

It also emerged the credit will be partly funded by an €80m underspend for retrofitting homes and the National Broadband Plan

Minister for Public Expenditure & Reform Michael McGrath told to "steer clear of any further specifics" when discussing funding for the €100 electricity credit. Picture: Gareth Chaney/Collins Photos

The Public Expenditure Minister was told by staff to "steer clear of any further specifics" when discussing funding for the €100 electricity credit.

The one-off €100 electricity credit was approved by Cabinet before Christmas, with the scheme costing a total of €210 million.

It will be partly funded by an €80m underspend in the Department of Environment from money set aside for retrofitting homes and the National Broadband Plan, after the department did not reach their targets in rolling out both schemes last year.

In total, across Government, €286.5m had been committed for retrofit activity, including social housing last year.

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Emails released under Freedom of Information Act and seen by the Irish Examiner show one official from the Department of Public Expenditure advising another staff member.  The emails says that if "our minister" is asked about the funding source for the €210m, he should provide scant detail.

"In this event, I would suggest that the minister notes that funding allocations will be made once the necessary legislation has been passed by the Oireachtas," the email read.

"We would advise that the minister steers clear of any further specifics but, if pressed, the minister could note that funds will be met from within Dept of Environment's 2022 allocation with the Exchequer."

Precedent

In another email, an official from the Department of Public Expenditure told their colleague that they "would be very concerned about the precedent such a scheme would set with the inherent future risks".

The payment is one of a suite of measures to mitigate the effects of the unprecedented rise in electricity prices.

A spokesperson for the Department of Environment said Covid-19 had affected the Government's ability to reach retrofitting targets.

“The extensive Covid-19 related restrictions on construction activity between January and mid-April last year had a significant impact on activity in Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) residential retrofit schemes," the spokesperson said.

Below target

The Programme for Government and the Climate Action Plan set targets to retrofit 500,000 homes and to install 400,000 heat pumps in existing buildings over the next 10 years.
The number of homes that were retrofitted in 2020 was more than 25% below target.

A spokesperson for the Department of Public Expenditure told the Irish Examiner that "officials advised the minister to steer clear of details, as the specific means through which the required funding for the rebate would be provided to Dept of Environment and approved by the Oireachtas, had not been finalised at that time".