Mr Pat Rabbitte TD, Minister for Communications Energy and Natural Resources has announced that the Government will spend €13m by the end of this year on more than 80 community energy projects around the country, under Better Energy schemes administered by SEAI.

The projects include energy efficiency upgrades to more than 3,500 homes, 80% of which are classed as energy poor, and more than 290 public and community buildings.

Delivering the projects will involve the equivalent of over 300 full time jobs and will achieve almost €7m in annual energy savings.

The Minister marked the announcement at one of the flagship projects, a partnership between Musgrave, its retail partners in SuperValu and Centra, and the GAA. The real innovation is that Musgrave and its retailers, as part of the overall Better Energy investment, will in turn part fund energy upgrades in the local community. The project will see energy efficiency upgrades completed in 24 retail stores, including insulation and heating and lighting upgrades. Musgrave has selected 22 local GAA clubs as partners whom they will part fund to get similar upgrades, saving them in the region of €47,000 a year, which can be redirected into club development. Total grant support to this project is €520,000.

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Speaking at the announcement, Minister Rabbitte said: "This collaboration between Musgrave and the GAA shows how local efforts can combine to deliver significant results in energy efficiency. The €13 million funding announced today is focussed on similar initiatives at community level supporting practical energy efficiency upgrades, making the properties warmer, more comfortable, and less costly to run. We see this as a key component of the future for retrofitting in Ireland."

Dr Brian Motherway, Chief Executive of SEAI said: "Energy retrofitting is worth hundreds of millions of euro and maintains thousands of valuable jobs. This type of partnership will be a key enabler for unlocking more opportunities in the future."

(CD/JP)