Noel Grealish (Galway West, Independent)
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421. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the Government schemes and grants that are available to support companies that wish to refurbish multiple derelict or vacant properties within towns and villages; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24484/23]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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The Repair and Leasing Scheme (RLS) is available to support the refurbishment of multiple derelict or vacant properties that have been vacant for more than one year.

Where the owner of a vacant property cannot afford or cannot access funding required to bring the property up to the standard for rental property, the local authority (or an approved housing body (AHB)) can fund repairs, up to a maximum of €60,000 including VAT per unit. In return, the property is leased to the local authority (or AHB) for use as social housing for between 5 and 25 years. The cost of the repairs funded by the local authority (or AHB) is repaid by the property owner as a reduction in the lease payments over an agreed time period.

In June 2022, the expanded RLS scheme opened the scheme to a wider range of owners, by removing the criteria that a property owner must be unable to fund or access funding to bring vacant units up to rental standards. This modification is limited to the conversion of the following types of properties to residential use:

• vacant commercial properties;
• vacant units associated with commercial property, e.g. over the shop;
• vacant institutional buildings; and
• unfinished developments, vacant for a significant period of time.