Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 27 June 2019
258. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the number of social housing units nationally; if an analysis has been undertaken to assess the BER rating of the units; the estimated cost of retrofitting the social housing stock owned by the State; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27223/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraThere are circa 138,000 social housing units nationally in the ownership of local authorities.
My Department has been funding an Energy Efficiency Retrofitting Programme for these properties since 2013. The Programme has 2 Phases - Phase 1, which comprises the bulk of the work undertaken to date, has focused on the lower cost improvements such as cavity wall and attic insulation, while Phase 2 targets higher cost measures, such as fabric upgrades and glazing/heating upgrades. As local authorities progress further into Phase 2 of this programme, the aim will be to bring the deep retrofit of the social housing stock to the 'cost optimal' equivalent performance, or a BER of B2.
In the period, 2013 to 2018, some €128 million in exchequer funding has been provided under the Programme to improve energy efficiency and comfort levels in almost 68,000 local authority homes. In addition, energy efficiency measures have been incorporated into the 9,000 plus vacant social housing homes that have been returned to productive use under the Voids Programme since 2014.
The cost of carrying out an energy retrofit on a social housing home depends on a wide range of factors including dwelling size, year of construction, dwelling condition, and construction type. While initial indications suggest that investment in the region of €2 billion may be required to complete the retrofitting of the local authority housing stock, a detailed analysis of the stock is planned to profile both the further works required to homes that have had lower cost improvements carried out under Phase 1 and under the Voids Programme, and the works required to the remainder of the stock. Work in this regard will be carried out with local authorities in the context of the application process for funding under the Energy Efficiency Programme in 2020.
