Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The revitalisation of vacant and derelict properties is being addressed by a number of initiatives delivered by my Department in line with the commitments contained in Our Rural Future and as part of the Government's Housing for All strategy. In April, I announced investment of €81 million for 25 landmark projects under category 1 of the RRDF. These projects will combat dereliction, increase the vibrancy of rural towns and villages and regenerate town centre buildings.

I have also announced funding of €15 million that is available under the 2021 town and village renewal scheme. A key focus of this year's scheme is to renovate derelict and vacant buildings in our town centres, including for residential living. I have increased the maximum grant available under the town and village scheme to €500,000 to permit projects of additional scale to be funded. I expect to announce the successful projects in the coming weeks. There are a range of other initiatives outlined in Our Rural Future, which will contribute to addressing vacancy in our towns and villages, including the development of a town centre first approach, with a focus on vacancy and dereliction. The new croí connaithe fund, as outlined in Housing for All, will also provide a grant to support the refurbishment of vacant properties where the level of vacancy or dereliction is high. I understand the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, together with the Housing Agency, is developing an operational basis for this new fund. I expect this will complement the measures forthcoming in the towns centre first policy framework and bring a cross-government focus to addressing the issue of vacancy and dereliction.

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