Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein)
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Question 124: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will make money available to local authorities for the insulation of senior citizens housing complexes owned by local authorities. [33516/11]

Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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Under my Department's Social Housing Improvement Programme, funding of up to 90% of the approved cost is provided to Housing Authorities to undertake improvement works to occupied and vacant social housing units, including works to improve the energy efficiency and general standard of the houses concerned. In the case of works to improve the energy efficiency of a dwelling, authorities are required to undertake a pre-works and a post-works Building Energy Rating (BER) assessment and the amount of grant paid to housing authorities is linked to the level of energy savings achieved. In 2011, Dublin City Council received an allocation of €5.5 million for such improvement works. It is a matter for the Council to select the properties to be upgraded and to determine the nature and the scale of the works to be undertaken in each case. My Department understands that the City Council has been focusing its 2011 programme on upgrading vacant and void properties and has recently sought an increased capital allocation for this year in respect of additional works completed under the programme. Upgrading vacant and void properties is consistent with the Department's objectives of returning stock to viable use and meeting housing need. However, any additional funding can only be considered in the context of savings arising elsewhere in the programme.

The City Council has indicated its intention to submit proposals for the upgrading of a number of occupied/semi-occupied flat complexes in 2012. It is a matter for the City Council, as part of its responsibility for the management of its social housing stock, to decide if the complex in question will be included under that programme.