Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

In conclusion, when we talk about town and village regeneration, genuinely, the Croí Cónaithe grant is transformational now. We are seeing that in every town and village, and cities now as well, and we have got to fund that out. We expect next year that we will have a drawdown of close to €100 million because it actually takes time for people to do the work. We should only pay a grant when people can certify the work has been done. If we were to add in additional steps and give stage payments, which some have suggested, we would actually prolong the process. Unless people are suggesting that we just provide a grant upfront on the trust that someone will carry out the work, I do not think that would be a good mechanism or way to do it. It is certainly not. However, it will make a massive difference to the people who have responded to the grant so far and the families I have met. We have approximately 2,700 approved already. There have been over 5,500 applications and that number is growing every single week, supported by our vacant homes officers in every local authority. This Government has ensured that we have vacant homes officers in all 31 local authorities who are focused on tackling the scourge of vacancy and helping to rejuvenate and regenerate our towns and villages.

I thank members for their input today. We will come back with any additional items and any reasonable additional requests members have made, where they are reasonable.