PJ Murphy (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, for being here this morning to take this Commencement matter. I am here to speak about the croí cónaithe property refurbishment grant and the criteria for the drawdown of payment after work has been completed. As things stand, there is a requirement that the applicant submits receipts for every individual piece of material and labour used in the refurbishment of the property in order to draw down the reimbursement payment. In turn, it is a requirement of a member of the clerical staff of the local authority to go through and assess every one of those receipts in advance of approving the payment. Assessing all of this puts a massive burden on the local authority in terms of manpower. In the vast majority of local authorities around the country, only one or possibly two additional staff members have been given to oversee the croí cónaithe scheme and its smooth working.

I understand there is clearly a need to ensure that all materials and labour are procured from tax compliant and legitimate sources but this concern could be addressed post payment by selecting a sample number of random applicants to be assessed or examined. This would act as a deterrent to ensure no non-legitimate sources of material or labour are used. This system is used in many Department of agriculture payment systems. If we were to change the system of examining the receipts and invoices to a sample-based system, we would take out an awful lot of the delays in payments to applicants. These delays put a lot of financial pressure on people. They cause a need for bridge funding to be secured by the people going ahead with the projects and sometimes it is not easy to get this funding. In many cases, it causes delayed payments to the tradesmen who have done the work as people wait to receive the reimbursement. I am anxious that we look at addressing this and perhaps use a similar system to what is proposed for the diesel scheme being put in place for farmers and agricultural contractors. This will involve a sampling of 5% of the applicants post payment.

Jerry Buttimer (Cork South-Central, Fine Gael)
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I thank Senator Murphy for raising this matter. I also thank Senator Duffy who has been working with him on this. I will bring the suggestions he made to the Department. Some consideration should be given to them because Senator Murphy is well versed in the matter.

The important point for the Government is that bringing existing vacant and derelict buildings back into use as homes is a priority for the Government and a central element of our housing plan. Significant progress has been made in addressing vacancy. A key measure that has been introduced is the vacant property refurbishment grant. It provides substantial support to bring these properties into use as homes. The grant provides support of up to €50,000 for the refurbishment of vacant properties and a further €20,000 for derelict properties. Feedback on the grant and the level of interest in the grant has continued to grow, with over 17,400 applications received to the end of quarter one this year, of which over 13,100 applications have been approved and over 5,300 grants paid, totalling almost €285 million. Recognising the need to bring as many vacant properties into use as homes, particularly in our towns and cities, a new expert advice grant and vacant above the shop grant were introduced to support bringing vacant upper floors into residential use, with a package of up to €140,000 available for the conversion of vacant space in such properties.

The grant process involves the local authority receiving and reviewing applications to ensure that grant conditions are met, and arranging for a qualified person to visit the property to check the refurbishment work being applied for and to assess the proposed cost. When the works are completed, the local authority will conduct a final property visit to review that the approved work has been completed in line with the grant application. The grant is paid on completion of the approved works, ensuring that the applicant has carried out the works applied for. This is also the approach in other grants, such as the SEAI and housing adaptation grants. It is important to note that introducing a system of having completion certification by a relevant qualified professional would result in every applicant having to engage the services of such a qualified professional, which would then result in an additional cost to the applicant.

In December 2025, the Government approved an additional sum of up to €100,000 per annum for each local authority to support the effective and efficient administration of the grant, in addition to the annual payment of €60,000 for the vacant homes office in each local authority. It is the responsibility of each chief executive to ensure appropriate resources are assigned to administration of the grant. Under Delivering Homes, Building Communities, more will be done to tackle vacancy and dereliction. The plan will ensure that the activities and resources used to address vacancy and dereliction are co-ordinated, and that legislative powers are used proactively to bring dereliction and vacancy to an end. As a result, families and people can become part of, and contribute to, vibrant thriving communities. I will take the points Senator Murphy raised back to the Department.

PJ Murphy (Fine Gael)
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I fully agree with the Minister of State that inspection of the property post completion of work by a properly qualified engineer or other professional is absolutely essential. However, there are major savings to be made in terms of the clerical administration of the scheme, as I outlined. I thank the Minister of State for his commitment to assess this. I also thank my colleague, Senator Duffy, for the work he has done on this to date. I look forward to working with the Minister of State on it.

Jerry Buttimer (Cork South-Central, Fine Gael)
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Senator Murphy made some very interesting points that require us as a Government to listen. I reassure him that we are committed to addressing the issue of vacancy. I thank him and Senator Duffy for their advocacy and work in this regard. We know the success of the vacant property grant - we have seen it throughout the country. We should always look at how we can improve the effectiveness and delivery of the scheme. I will bring Deputy Murphy's points back. It is worth saying that it is not proposed to introduce a system of completion certificates because the Government feels it is not necessary at the moment. I will take the points Senator Murphy has made back to the Department. The grant is making a real difference, as we both agree, in urban and rural areas. We will continue to support bringing many properties back into use as homes. I am happy to talk to the Senator further on this matter, because there is merit in what he said. I thank him for raising it.