Martin Ferris (Kerry North-West Limerick, Sinn Fein)
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Question 22: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his plans to deal with the need for improved insulation in local authority housing which are too old to be insulated up to current required standards using the current preferred methods. [22178/12]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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In line with overall national policy which promotes a reduction in energy use, the enhancement of energy efficiency standards remains a priority within my Department's overall strategy for the improvement of local authority housing. Under the Department's Social Housing Investment Programme, local authorities are allocated capital funding each year in respect of a range of measures to improve the standard and overall quality of their social housing stock. The programme includes a retrofitting measure aimed at improving the energy efficiency of older apartments and houses by reducing heat loss through the fabric of the building and the installation of high-efficiency condensing boilers.

My Department provides a grant of up to €15,000 per dwelling, depending on the energy improvement achieved, for necessary works such as attic and wall insulation, the replacement of windows and external doors and the fitting of energy-efficient condensing boilers. Additional funding, to a maximum of €3,000, is available for other essential improvement works to the dwelling. While the objective is to improve the general standard of a local authority house and increase the Building Energy Rating (BER) to as high a level as possible, with C1 being the target figure, it may not be practicable to bring every dwelling to this standard, especially in the case of older stock. Exchequer grants are not payable in respect of the achievement of G or F ratings.

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 23: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will clarify to local authorities the incomes which are treated as exempt when assessing housing need and to ensure that all forms of carer's allowance and domiciliary care allowance regardless of method or route of payment are exempt and treated as such by the local authorities. [22182/12]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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Household income is calculated in accordance with the Household Means Policy, issued in March 2011 under Regulation 17 of the Social Housing Assessment Regulations 2011. The Household Means Policy specifies that income from the carer's allowance and domiciliary care allowance is to be disregarded for the purposes of assessing income when assessing eligibility for social housing support. My Department will arrange for the issue of further guidance in this regard to ensure consistency of understanding and application across housing authorities.

Question No. 24 answered with Question No. 8.

Michael Colreavy (Sligo-North Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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Question 25: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the provisions made as part of the national rent scheme to be implemented with the commencement of Section 31 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009. [22177/12]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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Section 31 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009, when commenced, will replace existing enactments in relation to differential rent schemes. Regulations and guidelines for housing authorities to give effect to section 31 are currently in preparation in my Department. When these are made, section 31 will be commenced and authorities will have one year in which to put in place a differential rent scheme under the new provisions. While it is not the intention to introduce a national standardised differential rent scheme, the regulations to be made will more clearly set out the matters that may be included in a local rents scheme, including –

- the level, type and sources of household income that may be assessed for rent purposes;

- how dependents will be accounted for in calculating rent;

- the manner in which the size, standard, etc., of any class or classes of dwellings are to be taken into account in determining rent, having regard to the market rent in respect of dwellings of similar size, standard, etc., in the administrative area concerned; and

- procedures for rent reviews.