Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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42. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government his target for assistance to restore properties through the vacant property refurbishment grant; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53879/23]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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In July 2022 I launched the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant under the Croí Cónaithe Towns Fund, which supports bringing vacant and derelict properties back into use as homes.

In May 2023, I announced a revised grant rate of up to a maximum of €50,000 available for the refurbishment of vacant properties for occupation as a principal private residence and also for properties which will be made available for rent, including the conversion of a property which has not previously been used as residential.

Where the refurbishment costs are expected to exceed the standard grant of up to €50,000, a further maximum top-up grant of up to €20,000 is available where the property is confirmed to be derelict or where the property is already on the local authority’s Derelict Sites Register. This brings the total grant available for a derelict property up to a maximum of €70,000.

Since the grant was launched in July 2022 over 5,500 applications have been made and some 2,700 have been approved to date.

The Housing for All target was for 2,000 homes to be delivered by 2025 under the two schemes , the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant and the Ready to Build Scheme, which are both funded by the Croí Cónaithe Towns Fund. However, in light of the success of, and demand for the grant, following a Government decision in November 2023, the target has now been increased to 4,000 homes to be delivered.

When the Croí Cónaithe Towns Fund was launched, a commitment was given that the schemes funded by it would be kept under ongoing review. It is intended that a comprehensive review and evaluation of the schemes under the Croí Cónaithe Towns Fund will be undertaken by mid-2024.