Central heating for 6,000 homes in €32m plan

This year's local authority central heating programme has been announced and it is expected that more than 6,000 homes will benefit…

This year's local authority central heating programme has been announced and it is expected that more than 6,000 homes will benefit from the €32 million investment.

The central heating programme was introduced in 2004, and more than 9,000 houses have since been provided with central heating.

Minister for Housing and Urban Renewal Noel Ahern said: "The number of local authority dwellings without central heating has decreased by more than a third since the year 2000."

Mr Ahern also pointed to the many benefits of the scheme and said it provides solutions to fuel poverty and energy efficiency.

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"Apart from enabling people to have a better quality of life , it has important health and environmental benefits," he said.

Mr Ahern added that there were important knock-on effects of installing central heating in local authority homes including improved energy conservation and decreases in carbon dioxide emissions.

"Properly heated homes also help many elderly people to avoid winter illnesses."