Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent)
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302. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of persons on the social housing waiting list in County Donegal by the type of accommodation and length of time waiting; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9718/21]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 302 and 316 together.

Details on the number of households qualified for social housing support in each local authority area is provided in the annual statutory Summary of Social Housing Assessments (SSHA).

The most recently published summary, conducted in June 2019, shows that 68,693 households were assessed as qualified for and being in need of social housing support. This represents a decrease of 3,165 households or 4.4% on the assessment in June 2018.

The full report is available on my Department’s website at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/publication/29da7-summary-of-social-housing-assessments-2019-key-findings/.

The total number of households qualified for social housing support in Donegal in 2019 was 926, and 2,260 for Wexford.

Figure 2.7 and Table A1.7 of the report provide a breakdown of the current tenure type by local authority. Also Figure 2.6 and Table A1.6 provide a breakdown of any specific accommodation requirements, the majority of which (80.5%) had no specific accommodation requirements. Details on the length of time spent on the social housing list is provided in Figure 2.8 and Table A1.8 which provide details on the length of time households have been on the record of qualified households (the Waiting List).

It should be noted that the SSHA is a point in time exercise and does not reflect the dynamic nature of entries to and exists from the waiting lists.

Due to the Covid 19 pandemic, the 2020 assessment was delayed and conducted in November. Work is ongoing and the summary report of the 2020 assessment will be published in due course.

Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent)
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303. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the funding provided to Donegal County Council for housing in each of the years from 2016 to 2020 and to date in 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9719/21]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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My Department provides funding for a wide range of programmes and supports to assist households with their housing needs, including the delivery of new social homes, targeted supports to meet the housing needs of specific groups and programmes to maintain households within their existing housing through improvement, upgrading and adaptation works.

The funding provided to Donegal County Council for the delivery of housing programmes in each of the years 2016 - 2020 and to end January 2021 is set out in the table below.

Francis Noel Duffy (Dublin South West, Green Party)
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304. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of social housing units that have been retrofitted drawing on the €65 million allocation announced in October 2020; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9738/21]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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My Department launched the Energy Efficiency Retrofitting Programme in 2013, with the aim of funding retrofit of social homes requiring insulation and energy upgrade works. Since the programme commenced in 2013 over 73,500 units of social housing stock have been 'shallow' retrofitted with a total exchequer spend of €161 million under the scheme.

A key objective of the Programme for Government is the retrofit of 500,000 homes by 2030 to a B2/Cost Optimal BER standard. It is expected that approximately 36,500 of those will be local authority owned homes. The 2021 Energy Efficiency Programme is a newly revised programme designed around the Programme for Government commitment with a significant increase in funding support of €65 million. €20 million has already been allocated to the Midlands Retrofit Pilot as part of the 'Just Transition' programme leaving a balance available for allocation under the 2021 Energy Efficiency Retrofitting Programme of €45m.

Last week I launched the newly revised Programme with an initial allocation to local authorities of €35 million in funding for the retrofitting of 1,293 homes. The balance of €10m will then be allocated to local authorities who demonstrate an ability to complete the additional work and spend the full allocation in 2021. This Programme will see a significant upscaling, from a ‘shallow’ to ‘deeper retrofit’, on what has been completed by local authorities in previous years and will target 2,400 social homes for upgrade works in 2021, 750 of which relate to the Midlands Retrofit Pilot.