Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 July 2021
763. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will increase the maintenance budget to service council homes within Louth County Council; and his plans for future retrofitting given the insufficient budget Louth County Council has to deal with maintenance. [41009/21]
View answer764. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will increase the budget to Louth County Council to service the huge stock of old housing requiring upgrades such as windows and doors; his interactions with Louth County Council regarding the lack of budget it has to complete these woks; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41010/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 763 and 764 together.
My Department supports local authorities with annual funding towards the management and maintenance of their social housing stock under a number of funding programmes including the Energy Efficiency Retrofitting Programme (EERP) and the Voids programme. Record funding was provided to local authorities by my Department under the 2020 voids programme and very significant funding has been provided again in 2021.
The EERP was launched in 2013 with the aim of funding the retrofit of social homes requiring insulation and energy upgrade works. Since 2013, over 73,500 units of local authority housing stock have been retrofitted under the programme with a total exchequer spend of €161 million. From the period 2013 to 2020 Louth County Council completed 2,281 units under the EERP at a cost of €3.2m. Substantial works has also been undertaken under the Voids programme, with almost €1.6m recouped by Louth County in the period 2015-2020 which resulted in 148 vacant properties being returned to productive use.
The revised EERP for 2021 focuses on ensuring that the fabric of the home is upgraded and an energy efficient heating system is provided. Works eligible under the Programme include attic/cavity wall insulation or external wall insulation, windows and external doors, heat pumps and ancillary works. The budget for the 2021 EER is €45m and Louth County Council has received an allocation of €1,407,580 for the retrofit of a minimum of 52 homes to a B2/Cost Optimal BER standard. Under the 2021 Voids Programme, Louth County Council has been allocated funding for the return of 115 vacant properties.
Responsibility for the management and maintenance of the local authority housing stock is the responsibility of the local authority under section 28 of the Housing Act, 2009. My Department will continue to support local authorities in this regard however it is important that local authorities budget adequately for housing management and maintenance as part of their annual budgeting process using the available housing rental income to its maximum.
