Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if any consideration has been given to grant aiding local authorities to roll-out a retro-fitting insulation scheme for older council dwellings, especially for tenants dependent on social welfare who cannot afford even the basic insulation in their rented homes. [6866/13]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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Under my Department’s Social Housing Investment Programme, local authorities are allocated 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. Over the past two years, the retrofitting measure focussed on improvement works to vacant houses with the objective of returning as many as possible of these dwellings to productive use and combating dereliction and associated anti-social behaviour. Over that period some €52.5 million was recouped to local authorities in respect of improvements carried out to 4,774 dwellings.

I am currently reviewing the terms of the energy retrofitting measure for 2013 with a view to targeting grants at those older houses and apartments which lack adequate insulation and draught proofing. My Department will issue revised guidelines in this regard to local authorities in the context of the capital allocations under the housing programme for 2013.