Requests for funding for this work were received this week from the council. The management, maintenance and improvement of their existing dwellings, including the installation of central heating, is the responsibility of local authorities and must, as a general rule, be met from their own revenue resources. Where, under the remedial works scheme, funding is made available to assist authorities in carrying out major structural works to designated housing estates, the installation of central heating may be an element in such works. In the case of the applications from Tipperary UDC, the only work proposed is the installation of central heating which would not therefore qualify under the scheme. Local authorities were advised in February 1994 that full central heating should be provided in new local authority housing. It is a matter for each authority to decide on the type of heating system to be provided. They must be satisfied that the cost of the system to be provided is reasonable, that it is safe, efficient in the use of energy and appropriate to the tenant's needs and circumstances, that it can be adequately maintained and that it will not result in unsustainable running and maintenance costs.
