LATEST: Millions for 'safer, cleaner, and healthier' social homes in Kilkenny

Kilkenny County Council has received an allocation of €2.2 million under the Energy Efficiency Retrofit Programme (EERP) to support the retrofit of social homes.

The funding available under the programme is part of some €260 million in Exchequer funding across the Department's suite of supports for local authority home improvement programmes.

Along with today’s funding, the Minister announced that the average grant available per property across a local authority’s annual retrofit programme will increase from €34,000 to €38,000.

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Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, James Browne TD stated that the programme has 'made a huge impact nationally and in Kilkenny both in terms of the quality of our housing stock and in addressing the challenges of climate change'.

"Over 11,000 homes have been deep retrofitted since the scheme was first introduced and this increase in funding would see an additional 3,500 social homes retrofitted by the end of 2026," he said.

"We are in the middle of a housing crisis and, as Minister, I will do everything in my power to deliver the homes we need at scale, but we must also make sure that our existing housing stock is brought up to a very high standard.

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"These homes will be safer, cleaner, and healthier for those living in them and better for our environment.

"Furthermore, the funding will be allocated in such a way that we can make sure the money is spent, the work is carried out, and the results are delivered."

As demographics shift across the country, Kilkenny County Council has been changing its approach to housing delivery accordingly, prioritising one and two bedroom units while moving away from larger houses in the city. 

The necessity of this is reflected in the makeup of the city’s social housing waitlist, with 86% of the 596 approved applicants requiring one or two bed units.

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Of the 55 social housing units delivered in Kilkenny City in 2025, around 78% of these were one or two bedrooms with the largest development at Marnellsmeadows on the Callan road containing 22 units in total. 
 
As people have fewer children and start families later in life, the demand for smaller apartments has increased drastically and attitudes towards them are beginning to change while local authorities attempt to ease the effects of the housing crisis.

It was recently revealed that Kilkenny County Council ranked 16th out of 31 local authorities in terms of funding per capita received from the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government in 2025.

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