Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 22 September 2026
363. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the current plans for retrofitting all local authority homes including the timeline and estimated cost per year; the number of homes retrofitted for each year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [67170/26]
View answer372. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the full cost of retrofitting all local authority owned homes by 2030; the estimated average cost per home in 2023; the number to be carried out in 2026; and to make a statement on the matter. [67167/26]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 363 and 372 together.
Since 2013, my Department’s Energy Efficiency Retrofit Programme (EERP) has supported the retrofit of 85,292 local authority owned social homes requiring insulation and energy efficiency upgrades, with more than €0.5 billion provided to local authorities to support these works in the period to end-2025.
A revised EERP, introduced in 2021, is targeting the retrofit 36,500 local authority homes by 2030 to a post works BER equivalent of the previous B2 standard (125 kWh/m²/year). Eligible works include insulation upgrades, replacement of windows and doors, heat pump installation and associated works. Since 2021, over 11,000 social homes have been upgraded with support from my Department of approximately €342.3 million.
The overall cost of retrofitting all local authority homes by 2030 cannot be precisely determined, as costs will vary depending on the condition and pre works BER of individual properties.
To maximise delivery within available budgets, and deliver the targeted number of retrofits under the EERP by end-2030, local authorities are asked to maintain an average retrofit cost of approximately €40,000 per home in 2026 (including project management fees). The average cost drawn down per property in 2023 was almost €31,500.
Funding and output targets are determined annually through the Estimates process. For 2026, an allocation of €140 million has been provided under the EERP, representing an increase of over 50% on the previous year and supporting the retrofit of approximately 3,500 local authority homes.
A year-by-year breakdown of funding and completed retrofits for 2013-2025 is available on my Department’s website at: www.gov.ie/en/publication/668c1-energy-efficiency-retrofitting-programme-expenditure-output/.
Details of the Midlands Energy Retrofit Pilot Programme are available at: www.gov.ie/en/publication/b86b3-midlands-energy-retrofit-programme-expenditure-and-units/#.
Data on the number of retrofits completed by local authorities in 2026 will be published in early 2027 when the data has been compiled and validated.
