Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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229. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he plans to increase the thatching grant in line with the actual cost of re-thatching houses given the small number of vernacular older thatched cottages that are still in existence and their historic importance; if he plans to remove the condition of the scheme that the house has to be the primary dwelling of the owner to receive the grant; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38193/22]

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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230. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the estimated number of older vernacular thatched houses still in existence; the amount paid out in thatching grants in 2021 under the thatching grant scheme; the number of beneficiaries; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38194/22]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 229 and 230 together.

Under my Department’s renewal or repair of thatched roof grant scheme, in general a grant of up to €3,810, or two thirds of the approved cost, whichever is the lesser, may be payable in respect of necessary works to renew or repair the thatched roofs of houses. In the case of medical card holders, a grant of up to €6,350, or up to 80% of the approved cost, may be payable in respect of houses situated on the mainland, rising to €8,252 where the house is situated on a specified off-shore island. 

There is no requirement for the house to be the primary dwelling of the owner, however, the owner must consent to the proposed works and the house must be occupied as a full time place of residence on completion of the approved works i.e. not occupied as a holiday home. A total of 95 thatching grants were processed in 2021 with associated funding of €435,038.

Separately, Minister Malcolm Noonan, launched A Living Tradition, the new vernacular architectural heritage strategy, in December 2021. Action 6 of the strategy sets out to ‘enhance the protection and conservation of historic thatched roofs’. Officials in my Department have established a specific steering group, the Built Vernacular Heritage (Thatch) Steering Group to oversee and assist with the implementation of this particular part of the strategy. Under Action 6, the Steering Group will examine all issues relevant to thatched buildings, including thatching standards, fire prevention guidance, and the availability of suitable thatching materials, and any other relevant matters. The action also seeks to accelerate the recording and protection of these buildings, and to establish a central database. At present my Department estimates that there are 2,000 older vernacular thatched houses, and the establishment of a central database will provide further clarity on this figure. 

My Department, in conjunction with the Steering Group, will also progress relevant parts of other actions of the strategy as they relate to thatch, including a review of grant assistance for such buildings.