Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Byrne. As I have said, we want to see people in Limerick city and county taking up older properties. For those properties that have been vacant for more than two years and built prior to 2008 people will get a grant of €50,000 for either living in the house or renting it. If it is a derelict property they will get a further €20,000 to bring it up to €70,000. If people apply for SEAI grants on top of this they are probably looking at another €25,000. We very much want this to be seen as a way for people to buy their first homes. People might use it as a rental property. People cannot have two properties in the scheme to live in or to rent. It is a fair scheme. I very much take on board the points raised by Senator Byrne. A review is under way. If issues do arise, and I find Limerick City and County Council very good, by all means come back to the Department. This is a scheme we are very excited about. As I have said, there have been more than 6,000 applications to date and we want to see a lot more.