News

14th January 10
1/14/2010

Ulster Unionist Assembly member for Fermanagh & South Tyrone, Tom Elliott MLA has urged the Executive to consider extending the "boiler scrappage scheme" which was announced by Chancellor Alistair Darling in his Pre- Budget report that it should include N

BOILER SCRAPPAGE SCHEME SHOULD BE EXTENDED TO NI- ELLIOTT
 
Ulster Unionist Assembly member for Fermanagh & South Tyrone, Tom Elliott MLA has urged the Executive to consider extending the "boiler scrappage scheme" which was announced by Chancellor Alistair Darling in his Pre- Budget report that it should include Northern Ireland. This is even more urgent, given the present artic conditions which many parts of Northern Ireland have suffered in recent weeks.
 
Tom said: “A recent report published by the University of Ulster on 4 December 2009 has warned that levels of fuel poverty are expected to increase in Northern Ireland as improvements in energy efficiency are negated by increasing fuel costs. With 70% of homes in Northern Ireland relying on oil for heating, and as we are currently witnessing oil prices are soaring even more than prices for other fuels, this region of the UK should be included in the boiler scrappage scheme.
 
In relation to existing oil burners in NI, figures from Energy Trust show that 70% of the 730,000 homes are using oil as a means of heating and 500,000 of them are almost certainly using boilers which are 15 years old and would qualify if such a scheme was introduced in Northern Ireland. The Chancellor has stated that old inefficient boilers wasted around £200 on the average household bill and also put an extra tonne of carbon in the atmosphere each year.
 
The scrappage scheme would provide £400 for people to help them replace old style boilers with a new condensing boiler which would be more efficient and could deliver average savings on household bills of nearly £200 per year. It also has the potential to rejuvenate the ailing Plumbing/heating sector in the present downturn and perhaps help those households who do not currently qualify for current schemes. I intend to pursue this matter with the Minister of Social Development, Margaret Ritchie MLA to establish if steps are being taken to introduce this scheme to Northern Ireland.”




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