Minister Jan O'Sullivan has announced a €50m three year energy efficiency investment programme for local authority homes.

It is a key part of the Government's additional €150m capital investment in the economy over 2013-2014.

Beginning this year the energy insulation measures will target the 25,000 least energy efficient local authority homes. This will result in warmer homes and lower energy bills for thousands of families and will also create more than 1000 jobs in the sector.

She said: "The energy efficiency investment is good for jobs, good for tenants and good for the environment. Over the next three years we will invest €50m in improving the energy efficiency of 25,000 local authority homes. This has the capacity to create approximately 1,000 new jobs. It will also sustain the jobs already created in this important sector.

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"We estimate that 25,000 local authority houses have very poor energy ratings – an 'G' or 'F' in terms of BER ratings. This investment will be targeted at those homes and will result in an enhanced energy rating – resulting in lower energy bills and warmer homes for tenants. An annual €400 reduction in heating costs is anticipated for households. The initiative will also see our carbon emissions reduced by some 30,000 tonnes per year – an important contribution to Ireland's climate change strategy.

"In recent years capital funding for energy efficiency has been targeted at vacant properties owned by local authorities. This investment has produced real results, with more than 7,500 properties improved. Many of these units had previously been unavailable for letting, having been vacant for long periods. More than 5,000 such properties have now returned to beneficial use for low-income families."

(CD/MH)