Patrick Nulty (Dublin West, Labour)
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To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the grants available, if any, towards the installation of solar panels on local authority housing; if there is no such scheme in place, if he will consider the provision of such funding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40370/12]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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Under my 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, including the regeneration of large housing estates and flat complexes, estate-wide remedial works schemes, funding for extensions and adaptations to meet the needs of tenants with a disability etc. Funding of €18 million has also been provided by my Department this year for a programme of works aimed at improving the overall standard and energy efficiency of the housing stock.

In certain cases, approved retro-fitting and refurbishment works may include the installation of solar panels. However, there is no specific grant scheme currently in place for the provision of solar panels in local authority owned properties. I intend to review the operation of the retro-fitting and energy efficiency measure s in the context of the programme for 2013, including a review of the range of grant-eligible works under these measures.