The Energy Efficiency Retrofitting Programme for local authority social housing was rolled out in 2013 to support the insulation and energy efficiency upgrades in eligible social homes. To end 2025, almost 85,000 grants have been provided to local authorities under the programme, supported by Exchequer investment of over €487 million. During that time, a further €21 million was provided to support the retrofit of 700 or so homes under the Midlands Retrofit Pilot.
The EERP was revised in 2021, introducing a more holistic and flexible approach, and affording local authorities greater discretion in selecting properties for retrofit, ranging from those requiring minor improvement works to those needing deeper retrofit to achieve a post-works Building Energy Rating (BER) of 125 kWh/m²/yr. By adopting a balanced mix of interventions, local authorities can maximise the number of homes upgraded within the available budgets, while progressing towards the programme’s target of retrofitting 36,500 local authority owned social homes to this standard by 2030. Ultimately, responsibility for selecting and prioritising properties in line with programme requirements rests with each individual local authority.
Since the revised programme was introduced, the average level of funding available per home has increased by 41%, with €38,000 now available per retrofitted home. Funding available this year is also significantly increased on last year, with €140 million allocated to the retrofit of approximately 3,500 homes, an increase of €50 million compared to 2025. The increased grant levels, and considerable increase in overall programme funding, mean local authorities can support an even greater range of properties for retrofit.
More broadly, across all stock improvement programmes, some €260 million in funding is available to complement local authorities' own investment in the management and maintenance of their social homes.
Through the combined impact of ongoing retrofit programmes and new housing delivery, it is projected that 70% of local authority social housing stock will achieve a minimum BER rating of B by 2030.
