Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein)
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102. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government his plans to expand the insulation programme to remaining houses that do not benefit from cavity insulation (details supplied). [18597/16]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Local authorities are currently undertaking an ambitious programme of insulation retrofitting, with the support of my Department, on the least energy efficient social homes. Funding of some €85 million has been provided from 2013 to end-2015 to improve energy efficiency and comfort levels in over 46,000 local authority homes, benefitting those at risk of fuel poverty and making a significant contribution to Ireland’s carbon emissions reduction targets and energy reduction targets for 2020.

The insulation retrofitting programme is being implemented in two phases, Phase 1 commenced in 2013 and is focused on providing attic/roof insulation and the less intrusive cavity wall insulation in all relevant properties. There are 80,000 social homes to be tackled in that phase and to end-2015, some 46,000 homes have been retrofitted, with further good progress anticipated under that phase in 2016.

Phase 2 of the programme will focus on the external fabric upgrade of those social housing units with solid/hollow block wall construction, of which there are 28,000 homes. This phase has commenced on a pilot basis in both Fingal and Westmeath local authorities in 2015 and the outcome of this pilot work will inform the full national roll-out of Phase 2 across all local authorities.