Fifty local authority homes earmarked for extensive retrofit programme

Up to 50 local authority homes in Meath will benefit from extensive insulation works this year as part of the retrofit programme, at a cost of €950,000.

Navan Municipal District Council will also spend €876,156 on repairs, boiler servicing and traveller accommodation, a meeting of the Council heard recently.

Works to be carried out on vacant housing stock, preventative maintenance and housing adaption were also outlined.

Cllr Eddie Fennessy said he was disappointed with the funding allocated to the social housing retrofit programme.

“The €985,000 set aside for the scheme makes up 13 per cent of the overall budget, when you dig down into the numbers it's not as much as it should be, 50 houses from a total housing stock of 3,666 units will benefit from the fund.

“I'd like the Council to increase its spend on retrofit programmes over the coming years. Fifty houses per year in each Municipal District must be a target aim. Such an investment would save money longterm and reduce the Council's carbon footprint significantly."

Cllr Yemi Adenuga was told the turnaround was generally 12 weeks, but where there were energy upgrades to be done, it took longer, sometimes six months.

The meeting was told there was an €85million commitment nationally for the Energy Retrofit Programme for social housing stock in 2022, aimed at achieving a BER rating of B2.

The Local Authority Adaptation Works Scheme which assists Council tenants to address mobility problems and makes a house more suitable for a person with a disability has a fund of €290,328 countywide this year.

Eighteen projects were completed in the Navan Municipal District in 2021, to the value of €176,089.

Funding of €2,200,000 has been made available for the county as a whole in 2022 for pre lets repairs. €400,000 has been allocated across the county for preventative maintenance - the replacement of major components such as windows, doors, fascia and soffit and boilers as they reach the end of their lifespan.

The Municipal Council expects to spend €643,730 on ordinary maintenance of its housing stock of 1,041 units this year.

Ordinary Maintenance includes plumbing, heating, chimneys, windows and doors, general repairs to roofs/ceilings and electrical.

A panel of suitably qualified and experienced building contractors to carry out ordinary maintenance is in place to deliver on the 2022 maintenance requests from tenants, including an emergency out of hours response service.

Halting site maintenance in Navan for this year is €147,572 with €85,200 to be spent on boiler maintenance.