Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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396. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if there are two schemes for social housing retrofitting, one for voids and one for occupied homes. [12251/23]

Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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397. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of social housing units to be retrofitted in Cork in 2023. [12252/23]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 396 and 397 together.

My Department launched the Energy Efficiency Retrofitting Programme (EERP) in 2013 with the aim of funding retrofit of social homes requiring insulation and energy upgrade works. Since the programme commenced in 2013 to the end of 2022, over 77,500 local authority social housing dwellings have been retrofitted with a total exchequer spend of over €251 million.

In 2021 a new holistic approach was applied to the programme, designed around the Programme for Government's commitment led by the Department for the Environment, Climate and Communications that calls for the 'retrofit' of 500,000 homes to a B2/Cost Optimal Equivalent (BER) standard by 2030, of which, approximately 36,500 are expected to be local authority owned homes, with grant funding provided by my Department for those local authority housing retrofits.

Works eligible under my Department's revised EERP include attic/cavity wall insulation or external wall insulation where required, windows and doors replacement, heat pump installation and ancillary and associated works. Works are typically carried out in this order. The installation of gas/oil boilers or solid fuel/inset stoves including wood pellet stoves are not supported by the Department under the Energy Efficiency Retrofit Programme.

Separately the emphasis under the Department's Voids funding Programme is on minimum refurbishment works by the relevant local authorities to comply with the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2019 to ensure quick turnaround and re-letting times. Energy efficiency works may be carried out in parallel and if so the works associated with the EERP, as prescribed in 2021, apply.

The 2023 EERP budget provides an increase in funding support from €85 million allocated in 2022 to €87 million in 2023 with details of this year’s programme including target allocations being finalised. Due to the BER requirement of B2/Cost Optimal Equivalent under the programme, it will ensure that each property will have improved energy efficiency performance post upgrade works. With regard to the local authority properties which are selected to be retrofitted through funding available from the EERP, the selection of properties is a matter for each individual local authority.