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IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SDLP MLA BURNS: WELCOMES GREEN RATES REBATE PROPOSAL

SDLP South Antrim MLA Thomas Burns has welcomed proposals for consultation on rates rebates for energy-efficient homes from Finance Minister Nigel Dodds.

He said: “The minister wants views on a rate rebate for householders who make energy efficiency improvements, such as cavity wall and loft insulation in existing houses, and a five-year rates exemption for new homes that meet zero-carbon standards. I sincerely hope that this is marks the start of a new approach to the environment, because we have had stop-start ideas for too long.

“Two years ago we got a scheme of grants for domestic renewable energy use such as solar panels and wood-pellet central heating, and there was an excellent public take-up long before the current round of fuel price hikes began. But this year, just when the prices began to bite, the Reconnect scheme was discontinued.

“We urgently need some joined-up policies, and we need them to be underpinned by a coherent sustainable development strategy, but the Office of the First Ministers is dragging its feet on implementation.

“There will also be concerns that disjointed policy may be the result of internal DUP disagreement. Nigel Dodds is holding out the prospect of further fiscal incentives for energy conservation and the meeting of zero-carbon targets in order to protect the environment. Yet his party colleague, Environment Minister Sammy Wilson, intends to vote against climate protection legislation at Westminster.

“The SDLP will support all sensible measures to protect our environment, and if that means supporting one DUP minister against another, we will do what is necessary.”

ENDS