Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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206. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the BER ratings of the local authority stock in the 31 local authorities nationally in tabular form. [5852/19]

Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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207. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the amount it costs to upgrade the BER rating of local authority homes in tabular form (details supplied). [5853/19]

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 206 and 207 together.

The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) is the statutory agency responsible for the implementation and management of the Building Energy Rating (BER) Scheme, in accordance with Ireland’s obligations under the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive.  These regulations require every new building to have a BER Certificate since 1 January 2007.  In addition, any existing dwelling, offered for sale or letting on or after 1 January 2009, also requires a BER certificate.

Information and statistics in relation to the administration of the BER scheme are available on the SEAI website at

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The SEAI also provide BER statistics to the Central Statistics Office (CSO) which, in turn, publishes comprehensive quarterly bulletins which provide a detailed breakdown of BER ratings. This information is available on the CSO website at

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My Department does not collate data on BER statistics or collect BER data in relation to social housing homes. However all dwellings, including social housing, must comply with building regulations. Current regulations require a typical dwelling to have a BER of A3 and 98% of all new dwellings are, indeed, built to this standard.

The Nearly Zero Energy Building (NZEB) performance for new dwellings represents an improvement in energy and carbon dioxide emissions performance of 70% over 2005 standards and requires renewables on all new dwellings. This is typically equivalent to a Building Energy Rating (BER) of A2. The draft regulations and accompanying technical guidance to implement this have completed public consultation and the regulations are expected to be signed into law shortly. These regulations will also require that where Major Renovations take place which are greater than 25% of the surface area of the dwelling, the dwelling should achieve a cost optimal performance where feasible. This is equivalent to a B2 building energy rating for a typical dwelling.

Local authorities are currently undertaking an ambitious programme of insulation retrofitting, with the support of my Department, on the least energy efficient social housing homes. Funding of some €128.7 million has been provided from 2013 to end-2018 to improve energy efficiency and comfort levels in over 68,000 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 a number of phases. Phase 1 commenced in 2013 and focused on providing attic/roof insulation and the less intrusive cavity wall insulation in all relevant properties. Phase 2 of the retrofitting programme focuses on the external fabric upgrade of those social housing homes with solid/hollow block wall construction.

The budget allocation for social housing energy efficiency works in 2019 is €25 million.  My Department is currently working with the local authorities regarding their work proposals and related funding requirements for 2019, following which allocations will be made.  The number of social homes to be targeted in 2019, and for subsequent years, will depend on the work proposals and priorities submitted from the local authorities, and the available funding.