In a statement released on Thursday, the Ministry of the Environment announced that it has hired and will continue to hire additional staff in response to the considerable delays regarding the payout of subsidies.
At present, the number of full-time employees in the Subsidies and Financial Aid department is 23, including all careers and contract types. Almost half of these workers are on fixed-term contracts (CDD), which explains why there are so many personnel changes on a regular basis, according to the Ministry. In addition, the Ministry points out that each new employee must first undergo training to be able to handle the requests entrusted to them.
As part of the tripartite agreement, the Ministry of the Environment has been allocated ten additional fixed-term contract positions. Among other things, the Ministry intends to hire an expert to optimise the subsidy payout procedure. Aside from hiring more people, the Ministry plans to accelerate the process by outsourcing various technical tasks and improving digitalisation. In the future, applicants will be able to apply for the Klimabonus-Wunnen (“housing climate subsidy”) and the bicycle subsidy through MyGuichet, for instance.
Another reason for the delays is that many applications are incomplete or contain errors. This is true for about a third of all bicycle subsidy applications. In this context, the Ministry reminds applicants that if they have any questions, they can contact the Klima-Agence (Climate Agency). The Climate Agency can be contacted by phone (80 02 11 90) or via the official website www.klima-agence.lu
