Mr. Se?n Armstrong:

We do not have a profile of the BER for every local authority house. However, there has been a requirement in recent times to compile pre- and post-retrofit BER reports. The local authorities retain those reports. Since 2021, we have asked local authorities to submit those post-work BERs to the Department. Prior to that, a BER analysis was conducted when a shallow retrofit was carried out on a house.

Our total local housing stock is approximately 140,000. A shallow retrofit programme was carried out from 2013 to 2021, which included cavity wall and attic insulation. Some 75,000 houses were improved with by means of shallow retrofits in that period. Of those 140,000 houses, 35,000 have been built since 2008. The typical BER since 2008 has been at least B1. Since 2015, it has been A3. Some 35,000 houses are at a rating of at least B1 or A3 and, more recently, A2. Some 75,000 houses have had a shallow retrofit and 35,000 are already at a BER of B2 or better. That means 110,000 houses have been improved or are at a rating of at least B2. We plan to have almost 6,000 more done by the end of this year.