State aid to renew old boilers

A PAYMENT of up to €250 is to be made available for people swapping old fioul boilers with new condensing models.

Exact details of the scheme, announced by the Minister for Industry, Energy and the Digital Economy Eric Besson, will be made public in mid May.

Mr Besson said that, as well as the €250 prime à la casse, €100 would be given to anyone trading in their old boiler for a new low-temperature model.

The scheme is similar to one wound-up at the start of the year that involved trading in old cars.

Boilers will need to be over 15 years old to be eligible and participating companies, members of the Fédération française des combustibles, carburants et chauffage, will use a logo.

Mr Besson said that the payments, which can be reimbursed directly, or taken off future fuel bills, represented the minimum amount needed to be eligible for the scheme and that sales venues could offer more.

The success of the prime à la casse scheme for cars has seen some firms continue to offer their own private schemes after the government reduced and finally stopped payments.