Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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628. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the reason retrofitting targets in Louth are lower than targets achieved in previous years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47651/25]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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My Department supports local authorities with annual funding towards the management and maintenance of their social housing stock under a number of funding programmes including the Energy Efficiency Retrofitting Programme (EERP).

The Energy Efficiency Retrofit Programme (EERP) aims to retrofit a local authority home to a BER of B2. It is expected that 36,500 local authority owned homes will be retrofitted under this programme out to 2030.

Louth County Council have received the same allocation this year when compared to 2024 as indicated in the table below:

Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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629. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the total number of properties purchased through Louth county council under the tenant-in-situ purchase scheme; the total amount spent on this scheme in county Louth to date; if additional targets will be set for this local authority under this scheme to the end of 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47652/25]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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The funding of local authority second-hand acquisitions, including tenant in situ, is through my Department's Social Housing Investment Programme (SHIP). The table below set out the funding provided to Louth County Council under SHIP for their acquisitions activity, including those for tenant in situ, which was introduced in 2023.

Since 2023, up to 31 June 2025, Louth County Council has delivered 160 properties under their second hand acquisitions programme, including tenant in situ, with expenditure of €44,949,226.

The expenditure covers all areas of acquisitions activity, such as funding the purchase price, the legal and professional fees to transact the sale and also necessary refurbishment works required to the property. Note that expenditure in a given year can include costs on a property not necessarily delivered in that year.

In 2025, Louth County Council was allocated €12million for their second hand acquisitions programme. There remains adequate funding to meet all proposed acquisition draw down requests in 2025.

Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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630. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will detail the plans to deal with the change in CAS funding now being part of the overall local authority social housing acquisition fund and not as easily accessible for disability approved housing bodies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47653/25]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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The Capital Assistance Scheme (CAS) provides up to 100% capital funding to Approved Housing Bodies for the construction and targeted acquisition of housing for priority needs categories, including persons with disabilities. This position remains unchanged.

That said, targeted acquisitions under CAS now come within the provisions of Circular 11/2025 Social Housing Second-Hand Acquisitions Programme 2025. This year's programme expands the budget from €60 million provided for under Housing for All to €375 million in 2025. This allocation includes funding for acquisitions completed by Approved Housing Bodies via CAS.

Local authorities are required to work strategically with Approved Housing Bodies to ensure acquisitions completed by them, under programmes such as Housing First and accommodation for care leavers and persons with disabilities, are managed within the local authorities’ capital funding allocation. My Department intends to write to local authorities shortly regarding arrangements under the second-hand acquisitions programme for the remainder of the year, and to remind them that budgets should managed flexibly so that acquisitions for priority cohorts can be progressed throughout the year.

Local authorities can also enter into financial commitments for 2026 to a value of up to 30% of their original 2025 acquisitions budget. This facility allows local authorities to continue to provide for priority acquisitions in the closing months of 2025, with certainty on funding availability in 2026 should such purchases not complete this year.