Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 7 October 2009
341 Deputy Jack Wall asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government when the regeneration of a housing estate (details supplied) in County Kildare will be completed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34627/09]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe project in question, which is at an early stage of development, is part of my Department's Remedial Works Programme 2009-2011. The project proposal was received in late 2008 and, following an evaluation process, approval in principle issued from my Department in February 2009.
Certain further details provided by Kildare County Council on the design, costing and phasing of the project are the subject of technical examination by my Department, with a view to reaching agreement with the Council as soon as possible on an inclusive programme of works.
342 Deputy Ciarán Cuffe asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the measures in place to improve the energy performance of local authority housing and to address fuel poverty; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34635/09]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn recent years significant efforts have been made to ensure that all new construction projects, including the delivery of local authority housing stock, are designed and built to high energy efficiency and sustainable development standards. To that end, Part L of the current Building Regulations requires that all new housing, including social housing:
has 40% lower heat energy demand than previous buildings standards;
requires the installation of boilers with not less than 86% energy efficiency (condensing boilers);
requires the mandatory use of renewable energy sources (a minimum of 10 kilowatt hours per square metre per annum).
Ireland has become the first country to include a mandatory provision for renewable energy sources in its building code. My Department is committed to building on this success by pushing beyond these recommended levels in the 2010 Building Regulations.
As part of a national programme to improve the energy efficiency of the social housing stock, a range of initiatives has been introduced to deliver improved energy performance and to address, in large part, issues of fuel poverty in local authority housing.
Following a call for proposals for new social housing projects, my Department has, this year, approved eight new construction projects that are designed to go beyond the current building regulations and will achieve a minimum Building Energy Rating of A2 for each dwelling. These Towards Carbon Neutral demonstration projects will serve to further the local authority’s knowledge and experience in the design, construction and operation of high performing energy efficient social housing. Following this programme, it is intended that the successful, viable processes and technologies identified in the demonstration projects would be mainstreamed into general social housing provision.
My Department is also concerned to improve the existing local authority housing stock. Two new initiatives were announced earlier this year which further support this Government's objective of improving energy efficiency and tackling the issues of fuel poverty.
Firstly, my Department has allocated some €20 million to facilitate local authorities in improving the energy efficiency of local authority apartment complexes and vacant local authority dwellings. This operates on a co-funded, grant per unit basis, under which my Department provides funding for 75% of the cost of the works, subject to a maximum grant of €15,000, to bring vacant properties up to a Building Energy Rating of C1. In the event that a property does not achieve a C1 rating following remedial works, authorities may instead claim 50% of the cost, again subject to a maximum grant of €15,000.
In parallel with the Towards Carbon Neutral initiative for new construction projects, my Department is also supporting a number of demonstration projects for the retrofitting of energy efficiency improvements to existing local authority dwellings, with a view to again building up the expertise and experience of local authorities in delivering better energy returns in their stock. To that end, the Department has set aside a fund of €5 million to support a number of projects around the country. Two projects, Glover Court in Dublin City and two Georgian buildings in Limerick City, are already at an advanced stage of planning and design.
Since 2004, my Department has provided €125 million to support the installation of central heating and other energy efficiency measures in almost 26,000 local authority homes that were without any form of central heating. This programme is due for completion this year, with a further 2,100 installations being undertaken at a cost of €14 million.
Local authorities will, of course, themselves continue to fund a range of housing maintenance and improvement activities from their own resources.
Beyond the measures and programmes already outlined to improve energy efficiency and address issues of fuel poverty, my Department is also represented on the Inter-departmental/agency group on Energy Affordability. This group, under the auspices of the Department of Communications, Energy, and Natural Resources, provides an important vehicle for Departments and Agencies to share information and co-ordinate activities in the fuel poverty arena to best effect.
343 Deputy Fergus O’Dowd asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he will introduce a new tenant purchase scheme for local authority tenants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34638/09]
Amharc ar fhreagraNew schemes of incremental purchase of certain new dwellings provided by housing authorities and approved housing bodies and of tenant purchase of local authority apartments will be introduced in the coming months, according as the relevant parts of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 are brought into operation. There are no proposals at present to replace the existing tenant purchase scheme for local authority houses with a new scheme.
