Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 7 July 2020
267. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the amount of funding provided for the aggregated housing upgrade scheme; the amount spent to date; the progress to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14327/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs part of the Just Transition proposals for the midlands region, Budget 2020 made provision for €20 million to fund energy efficiency upgrades to local authority houses in the affected midland counties as a pilot programme. The programme also envisages the grouping of housing upgrades together so opportunities for retrofitting will arise for private housing with support from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI).
This programme is being developed under a Retrofit Taskforce and as well as my Department, the preparatory work also involves the Department of Communications, Climate Action & Environment and the SEAI. All involved are working with the relevant local authorities to identify areas of sufficient concentration of local authority housing requiring energy upgrades.
Significant preparatory work has been completed to date, including a framework for the retrofit works and the identification by the local authorities of their selected areas of housing to be retrofitted. However, the cessation of many construction-related activities due to Covid has had a significant impact on the work of the local authorities on this programme as essential preparatory work to survey local authority homes for the retrofit works was affected.
The adoption by the County and City Management Association (CCMA) of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for internal work to housing, has allowed the surveying work to proceed and as this is completed, it is expected that the retrofit works will commence on some local authority homes in August.
In light of the Covid-related delays and the fact that local authorities are currently completing the essential surveying work on their properties, there has been no funding drawn down so far by the local authorities, although I understand that costs have been incurred in the surveying work. I expect that as the surveying work is completed and the retrofitting work commences, local authorities will draw down the funding from my Department.
