Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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369. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will consider amending the Croí Cónaithe vacant property refurbishment grant scheme to allow it to be paid in stage payments when certain works are completed, as this would require much less funds to be put in place up front as access to finance is a significant impediment to many people who wish to take on the renovation of a vacant or derelict property; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17763/24]

Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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385. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the details of the percentage of approvals, payouts and applications delayed due to planning under the Croí Cónaithe scheme, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18049/24]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 366, 369 and 385 together.

Pathway 4 of Housing for All sets out a blueprint to address vacancy and make efficient use of our existing housing stock. The Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant supports bringing vacant and derelict properties back into use as homes. A grant of up to a maximum of €50,000 is available for the refurbishment of vacant properties for occupation as a principal private residence and for properties which will be made available for rent.

Where the refurbishment costs are expected to exceed the standard grant of up to €50,000, a maximum top-up grant amount of up to €20,000 is available where the property is confirmed by the applicant to be derelict or where the property is already on the local authority’s Derelict Sites Register, bringing the total grant available for a derelict property up to a maximum of €70,000. The grant is available in respect of vacant and derelict properties built up to and including 2007, in towns, villages, cities and rural areas.

The Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant is available to properties which have been vacant for 2 years. Homeowners and private landlords who wish to improve the energy efficiency of a property can apply for home energy upgrades under the Sustainable Energy Authority Ireland (SEAI). Further information can be found on the SEAI website at the following link: www.seai.ie/grants/home-energy-grants/individual-grants/

The requirement for planning permission is not a barrier to grant applications being processed or decided upon. A local authority may give approval in principle to a grant application where the applicant is required to obtain planning permission for the development / works involved. In these circumstances, the applicant must provide details of their planning application to accompany their grant application. Any grant approval in principle shall not be confirmed as approval in full until a final decision has issued in respect of the planning application by the planning authority.

The grant process involves the local authority receiving and reviewing applications to ensure that the 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. Following confirmation of a successful application and the works being completed, the local authority will conduct a final property visit to review that the work has been completed in-line with the grant application. Once the local authority is satisfied, they will then pay the grant. The payment of the grant at the end of the process is to ensure that the applicant has carried out the works applied for and for which the grant is being paid.

My Department publishes data on applications for the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant on its website on a quarterly basis, available at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/collection/4bbe4-vacant-property-refurbishment-grant-statistics/. This data includes the number of grants approved and paid broken down by local authority

When I launched the Croí Cónaithe Towns Fund, I gave a commitment that a comprehensive review of the schemes under the Fund, including the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant, would be undertaken. In line with Action 29 of the Housing for All Action Plan Update 2023, that review is underway and is expected to be completed by mid-2024.