Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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87. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of people who have applied for the vacant property refurbishment grant; if he plans any more changes to the terms and conditions of the grant; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3427/23]

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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96. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the overall amount available in 2022 and 2023 for the vacant properties refurbishment grant as part of the Croí Cónaithe towns fund; the amount made available for each local authority; the amount drawn down to date by each local authority; the number of applications per local authority completed; the further number being considered; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2853/23]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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108. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will provide a report on the operation of the Croí Cónaithe scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3559/23]

Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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132. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the levels of take-up to date on the various Croí Cónaithe strands in each local authority area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3663/23]

Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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157. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number for each Cork local authority of Croí Cónaithe applicants, in tabular form; the number of approved applicants; if they are vacant or derelict properties; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3401/23]

Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael)
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159. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will provide an update on the Croí Cónaithe vacant property refurbishment grant; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3545/23]

Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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I wish to ask the Minister about the scheme for the vacant property refurbishment grant. Does he plan any more changes to the terms and conditions of the grant?

Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 87, 96, 108, 132, 157 and 159 together.

Tackling vacancy is a key priority for this Government. Housing for All, the Government's housing strategy, sets out a blueprint to address vacancy and make efficient use of our existing housing stock. Many areas of cities, towns and villages of all sizes face the blight of vacant properties which, if brought back into use, could add real vibrancy and provide new accommodation in those areas. The Croí Cónaithe towns fund is a key initiative which underpins these policy objectives set out in pathway 4 of Housing for All, and I welcome the opportunity to provide a brief update in respect of the fund.

In July 2022, I launched the vacant property refurbishment grant as part of the Croí Cónaithe towns fund. The grant benefits those who wish to turn a formerly vacant house or building into their principal private residence, making it their home. When I launched the grant, it was in respect of vacant properties in towns and villages. The initial response was very positive. To maximise the number of vacant properties which could be brought back into use, I announced the expansion of the grant to include eligible vacant properties in both cities and rural areas from 15 November 2022.

A grant of up to a maximum of €30,000 is available for the refurbishment of vacant properties for occupation as principal private residences, including the conversion of a property that has not previously been used as residential. Where the refurbishment costs are expected to exceed this amount, a maximum top-up grant of €20,000 is available where the property is confirmed to be derelict. This brings the total grant available for a derelict property up to a maximum of €50,000.

Feedback on the vacant property refurbishment grant has been positive since its launch, with 760 applications nationwide reported to the end of December. I expect the numbers will increase further following the expansion of the grant.

The ready to build scheme was launched on 21 September. It is also funded by the Croí Cónaithe towns fund. Under this scheme, local authorities will make serviced sites in towns and villages available to potential individual purchasers for building their homes. These sites will be available at a discount on their market value. My Department is engaging with each local authority in respect of sites that might be suitable for the scheme.

My Department is monitoring how both schemes are operating and engaging with the vacant homes officers who have been appointed in each local authority. Data in respect of these schemes are being collated and verified and will shortly be published on my Department's website on a quarterly basis. They will include county-level breakdowns. In 2022, there was no allocation limit set for individual local authorities in respect of the schemes, as it was anticipated that the actual drawdown would be low at the start while the schemes were getting up and running. In 2023, €24 million is available for the schemes and we will keep the question of allocations under review and monitor drawdowns. My Department will be keeping the schemes more generally under continual review, and it is intended that a comprehensive review and evaluation of the Croí Cónaithe towns fund will be undertaken by mid-2024.

Acknowledging the administrative overheads involved in delivering both schemes, my Department is providing project management support funding of between €60,000 and €180,000 to each local authority for their delivery. In 2022, €1.38 million was provided to 21 local authorities that applied for this funding.

The most efficient home to deliver is the one that already exists. Under Croí Cónaithe, these schemes can play a vital role in delivering homes and revitalising local communities.

Joe Carey (Clare, Fine Gael)
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A number of Deputies have indicated, starting with Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan.

Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State for his response. I commend him, his predecessor, the Minister of State, Deputy Burke, and the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, on this scheme. I have seen it working in my local authority area. However, I wish to ask a number of questions to establish the facts.

I thank the Minister of State for the figures he provided. As with any scheme, there will initially be a certain period before the scheme kicks in properly. I hope 2023 will see a marked improvement in the number of applicants. Will the Minister of State clarify something? I believe he said there were 760 applications. How many of those were successful? This is a positive scheme and I encourage more people to take it up, but will the Minister of State clarify whether he is likely to amend it further, for example, the income thresholds or other criteria? Is such a review ongoing in the Department?

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State for his response. Has he any idea of how many vacant homes there are per county? Some work has been done in this regard in County Cork. Does the Minister of State agree that having one full-time vacant homes officer in each county is a good thing? For a county the size of Cork, though, does he also agree with its chief executive's recent statement that one full-time officer would be needed per town to make the scheme effective? There is one officer in County Louth, another in County Waterford and one in County Cork, yet County Cork is four, five or six times the size of some other counties. Does the Minister of State agree a county like Cork should have many more vacant homes officers to make this scheme work and have an impact? There are many vacant and derelict homes around the country that need to be used.

Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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I echo Deputy Stanton's comments. The resourcing of local authorities is a crucial component in the success of Croí Cónaithe. I welcome the fund. I acknowledge the work of the Minister, the previous Minister of State in this role, Deputy Burke, and the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan. I congratulate the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, on his appointment and wish him the best of luck for the future.

We must resource local authorities in terms of the manpower needed to roll this out, but another crucial component will be awareness. I discussed this matter with my local authority in Kerry prior to Christmas. It was expecting to get financing to try to create awareness of Croí Cónaithe's various strands among prospective property owners. Will the Minister of State update the House on whether there will be money for local authorities with the specific aim of increasing general awareness of Croí Cónaithe among prospective homeowners in particular?

Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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Using properties that are vacant and making them available for housing is a constructive idea. I welcome the Croí Cónaithe scheme and the approach it is taking. There are vacant properties in towns and villages across the country. In Macroom, there are vacant properties in the Dunnes Stores apartments, which have been unoccupied since they were built in 2004. Locals are frustrated that these apartments are not available for people to live in. Every effort should be made to make them available.

There is a good level of interest in making applications to the scheme. The Minister of State referred to a figure of 760. I hope there will be many more, and people are inquiring about it at my office. Is the Minister of State setting a target with each local authority for how quickly applications are processed so that people who are interested in taking part will know how soon they can get access to the funding and do the requisite work? Are the local authorities achieving those targets?

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Vacant properties are important, given that we need houses. In 2018 and 2022, planning exemptions allowed some developers to take on vacant buildings. I am speaking about Carlow. This matter is important in terms of beneficial housing schemes. When making compulsory purchase orders, CPOs, on properties and trying to develop them, local authorities are getting caught up in red tape. A high-profile unit in the historic heart of Carlow town centre has come under the Part 8 process and the exemption does not apply. Refurbishment of the unit under Government policy will effectively be delayed by at least two years.

In 2022, Carlow met its targets by delivering eight schemes. In 2023, Carlow has to deliver 28 schemes to meet its targets, each scheme demanding a full Part 8 package - tendering, procurement, supervision etc. This is stretching the technical team's ability to deliver. Can we set the bar for planning for all developments, public and private, at the same level? A few simple amendments to Part 8 would escalate town centre first projects and accelerate delivery. I am aware of the Minister of State's dedication and commitment to town centres and vacant properties.

Joe Carey (Clare, Fine Gael)
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The Minister of State has quite a number of questions to deal with there.

Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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Yes. That five Deputies contributed shows how relevant and important the Croí Cónaithe scheme is. I will take them in order. Starting with Deputy O'Sullivan, Croí Cónaithe has no income threshold, so people can-----

Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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Will the Minister of State consider increasing the grant ceiling?

Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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We are keeping the Croí Cónaithe scheme under constant review. There has been a significant uptake so far, with 716 applications nationwide. In Cork county, 84 people had applied to the end of December. In Cork city, four had applied. The scheme is immensely successful. We want to get it bedded down and to encourage people to apply for it. Even if there is considerable interest, there will not be an issue with capital. The Minister will be able to go to the Cabinet and get extra capital funding.

Deputy Stanton's point about vacant homes officers was a good and valid one. We would ask local authorities to apply directly to the Department for additional vacant homes officers. We would look positively on that. We want this scheme to work. We would welcome any suggestion of a positive nature.

Deputy Griffin spoke about resourcing local authorities. In Kerry, there were 60 applications to the end of the year.

There is huge take-up. It was very much in the same vein as the vacant homes officers. Ask Kerry County Council, Cork County Council and any other local authorities that wish to apply. If they need additional vacant homes officers, the Department will look on such requests favourably in terms of funding.

Deputy Aindrias Moynihan spoke about targets. This scheme has just been rolled out. There has been a huge take-up in a relatively short time. The scheme will bed down. We will be interacting with the local authorities to see how they are doing. In a relatively short time, we will be setting targets in terms of a processing time. The key is that the local authorities in the main appear to have been highly efficient in the way they have processed the applications, in that they have come back in such a short period.

Deputy Murnane O'Connor spoke about a specific Part 8 scheme. Our schemes are about ensuring we can bring properties back into residential use. I ask the Deputy to forward the details of that scheme to the Department and we will look at it in great detail.

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Brilliant.

Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I think that covers the range of issues that were brought up.

This is a great scheme. We want this scheme to work. We want to work in tandem with local authorities. The Deputies, as public representatives on the ground, are a key element of this. If there are any tweaks that are required to the scheme, funding is not an issue here. We want take-up. The town centre first policy is all about that, namely, bringing properties back into use. Returning to the key point, the easiest property to bring back into use is an existing building.

Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State for his response. In fairness, the Minister of State is speaking plain language. We appreciate the direct responses as well.

It is disappointing to see that Cork city has only had four successful approvals but as I said, the scheme-----

Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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No, applications.

Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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I apologise, applications. However, the scheme is in its early days. Hopefully, that will improve.

Can the Minister of State give us a county-by-county breakdown of the figures he has at a later date? I do not expect the Minister of State to have them to hand. I refer to applications and the number of them that have been successfully approved.

To follow-on from Deputy Stanton's question on vacant home officers, if he has the figures can the Minister of State clarify whether they all have been employed at this stage across each local authority or how many vacancies still exist?

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State for his response with respect to the fact that local authorities can apply to the Department for more funding to appoint more full-time vacant homes officers. I stress the word "full-time", that they do not do any other job but that, and that would be a condition of this. In the past, I was told they had ten other jobs and this was the bottom of the list.

We need these officers to go out there and to tap on the shoulders of people who own houses that are empty and properties that are derelict, and invite them to talk and let us get this up and running. Would the Minister of State confirm that if Cork County Council applies to the Department for, say, one officer in each municipal district, of which there are eight, ten or 12, that application would be looked on favourably?

Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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I emphasise it is important that there would be a budget to create awareness of the scheme and the various differences between the strands of the scheme. That is something that local authorities should be able to tap into to put the scheme out there. That will help take-up.

On a related vein, and something I previously raised on a number of occasions, I ask the Minister and the Ministers of State to again engage with the utility companies, for example, ESB Networks, in relation to reconnection fees. These fees are quite punitive. It is yet another barrier. These will be future customers for these companies anyway and there surely should be a better way for people to reconnect old properties to the grid without being charged so much upfront. Can the Department examine that as one less expense people will have, as well as the fees regarding water connections or reconnections, which are another expense? I could say a great deal about the taxation code, about VAT and about different costs in relation to insulation and other costs as well, but those are ones that could be quick wins.

Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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First, I thank the Minister of State for the various details on the scheme. I acknowledge it is a constructive and positive scheme and is only on the go for a number of months at this point.

There is good interest. People have been inquiring about it in my office. There are many inquiries locally on it.

On the figure of 84 for Cork county, can the Minister of State give a breakdown of how many are approved at this point? The figures the Minister of State has given are for applications. When people are applying on those, they want to get on with doing the job. Having a clear timeline on how quickly one will have the funds available is important for people who want to plan to do the works and get into the house. Have many of them been drawn down at this point? If the Minister of State has details on that, I would be interested. As this scheme is also available for rural homes, I would be interested in whether the Minister of State can give an indication of how many are in the towns or in the rural areas.

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State. I will provide those details to him. I will be looking for the figures from the Minister of State for Carlow and of course for Kilkenny, in addition to those on rural homes, as previous speakers have requested. We are here today because it is such an important and welcome scheme. We have a housing crisis and all the Deputies are in a position where they are trying to get as many houses or buildings up and running as they can. I am looking for that information.

Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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Going through the questions in the order raised, in response to Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan, the Croí Cónaithe scheme only came in for the cities in November. Certainly, we are only looking at the period to the end of December and it is a short timescale in terms of Cork city.

I refer to the vacant homes officers. Deputy Stanton raised it as well. If Cork county, Cork city or any local authority makes a business case - it is about volume and about making a business case to the Department - it would be favourably received. As a Department, we have to look at applications in terms of their credibility but at this stage the Department stands receptive to receive these business cases for additional vacant homes officers, and the case in terms of them being full time. There are people out there who have huge knowledge, for instance, former rates collectors. The Deputy knows the people; they are there.

Deputy Griffin sought a public awareness campaign. There is now a vacant homes unit specifically set up in the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage for the first time. They are now embarking on a nationwide public awareness campaign. I would have thought that they will feed into the local authorities on that and that will bring great clarity on it.

The Deputy makes a valid point in terms of dealing with the utility companies on reconnections. We will take that up with the vacant homes unit within the Department to interact with the utility companies to come up with a protocol in terms of reconnections. With old buildings, we all know how long it takes. That is a valid point.

Deputy Aindrias Moynihan asked about the breakdown. Once again, in terms of Cork county, the rural scheme only got up and running in November. The number there, obviously, would be very tight but it is something that we can look at.

We have not precise figures broken down per county or local authority area. Roughly, 20% of applications at this stage are going through the system and have been virtually approved. There shows reasonable efficiency within the local authorities.

To give Deputy Murnane O'Connor the figures, Carlow had six applications up to the end of December. Kilkenny, which the Deputy represents as well, had 18. The Minister of State, Deputy Malcolm Noonan, representing in the same constituency, is obviously keen that this would be pushed. The type of detail the Deputy is looking for will be published quarterly and if there is additional detail that the Deputy would like to see included, let the Deputy make us aware so that we can do so. This scheme is very much up and running.

This is a scheme I am very excited about. It is a scheme the public will engage with. We need this. This is all about a town centred approach, bringing homes back into use for families and other people.