Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I acknowledge the indulgence of Senator Clonan in allowing us to proceed. I thank my colleague from Limerick, Senator Maria Byrne, for raising this important issue and allowing me the opportunity to provide an update on the vacant property refurbishment grant, know as the Croí Cónaithe grant. It is a key action under Housing for All, the Government's policy on housing. The vacant property refurbishment grant was launched in July 2022 under the Croí Cónaithe towns fund. Initially the amounts available were €30,000 for properties vacant for more than two years and €50,000 for derelict properties, and the properties had to have been built prior to 1993. Last May this was changed whereby the properties must have been built prior to 2008. The grants have been increased to €50,000 for properties vacant for two years and to €70,000 for derelict properties. This is very straightforward. Derelict properties must be on the derelict property register or deemed to be derelict in a submission made to the local authority.

Feedback on the grant has been very positive since its launch, with 6,300 applications received and 3,400 applications approved to date. Policy and guidance in respect of the scheme are set out by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, with individual applications processed by local authorities, with the support of the Department and the Housing Agency.

Initially the scheme allowed for 18 months for works to be completed after application approval. Senator Byrne referred to the fact that this is now 13 months. This is to encourage recipients to complete refurbishment works as quickly as possible. To deal with one of the points raised by Senator Byrne, discretion is available to local authorities to extend this in individual cases. If Senator Byrne is aware of cases she should go to the local authority. If there are issues, by all means she should come to the Department and we can look at them and follow up on them. Limerick City and County Council is doing good work and there are good people involved.

Recently the Department published statistics on the vacant property refurbishment grant, including drawdowns, which noted that 100 grants were drawn down to the end of 2023. The total grants approved during that period was 3,100. There is a time lag between grant approval and payment and Senator Byrne referred to stage payments. A review of the terms of the programme is under way which will be completed in the middle of this year. We are considering all aspects, including this factor. The records show that of the 3,166 applications approved to 31 December 2023, a total of 150 were approved over 13 months. The drawdown levels are tracking the levels of initial approvals. We expect many more to come through in 2024.

Senator Byrne asked specifically about Limerick City and County Council. As of 31 December, 275 grant applications had been received with 169 approved, four rejected - I am not certain whether these have been appealed but I can follow up on it - and ten payments issued on completion of works. The remainder of applications are at various stages of assessment by the local authority, including some awaiting requested required documentation from the applicant, such as arranging site inspections. The rate of rejection is very low, which is positive.

Addressing vacancy and maximising the use of existing housing stock is a primary objective of the Government. A key initiative has been the introduction of the vacant property refurbishment grant. The Department will continue to monitor and support its delivery by local authorities throughout the country to bring vacant and derelict properties back into use and breathe new life into our cities, including Limerick city and county. There have been 275 applications with 169 approved, four rejected and ten payments by Limerick City and County Council. I have covered the questions asked by Senator Byrne and obviously she will have follow-up questions.

Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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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.

Victor Boyhan (Independent)
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I thank the Minister of State for giving us his time this morning.