One hundred and sixty eight homes in Down, Newry and Mourne will have new boilers fitted as part of a pilot replacement scheme funded by the Northern Ireland Executive.

The £2 million pilot scheme, launched in June last year is designed to help older people who don't qualify for other energy efficiency improvement schemes, some of those most vulnerable to fuel poverty.

Social Development Minister Nelson McCausland, talking about the scheme said: "More than 1,300 homes across Northern Ireland will have boilers replaced as a result of this NI Executive initiative. Some homes in Northern Ireland have boilers 30 or 40 years old, which are very inefficient and costly to run. Replacing these can increase the efficiency by more than 30%, making the fuel go further.

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"I will be looking closely at the result of this pilot to see what lessons can be learned and how we can further improve the energy efficiency of more homes across Northern Ireland.

"The scheme has also given a boost to more than 600 local heating installers across Northern Ireland and the work in Down, Newry and Mourne represents an injection of more than £250,000 for local businesses."

The pilot scheme, administered by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive is now closed to applications. A full evaluation will now be carried out by the Department for Social Development.

(CD/GK)