Seán Kyne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the new, updated and improved Croí Cónaithe towns fund which was launched yesterday. Application forms are available now. This is a welcome move to allow for vacant and derelict rural properties to be included as part of the scheme, with payments of between €30,000 and €50,000, with a special top-up. This had been sought and is welcome. I congratulate all involved, especially the Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke, on our side, as well as the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, and the Minister of State, Deputy Malcolm Noonan. This will include houses that have been vacant for two years or more, which is verified by utility bills. For homes built before 1993, proof of ownership has to be provided to the local authority. People are required to reside in the dwelling as their principal private residence once the grant is drawn down. The priority is for applicants who are first-time buyers and includes those who qualify under the new fresh start principle. Secondly, there are applicants with disabilities who may be selling an existing home who want to refurbish and live in a vacant property, then others who are selling an existing home in order to move into and live in a vacant property. This is welcome.

We can see rural vacant properties all over the place so this is a game changer in revitalising these communities and helping to assist the housing stock across our country. We know there is an under-supply of houses and that demand exists. If we can assist people, as this scheme does, in getting their foot on the ladder through a relatively beneficial investment, that would be a game changer in increasing the supply of homes across the country.