Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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107. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government to consider extending the vacant property refurbishment grant to other older buildings, including traditional barns and farm buildings. [39527/24]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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109. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if a home has been vacant for over two years, but a person unwittingly moved in before an application was lodged for the refurbishment grant, if the grant can still be processed once it is established that the house had been vacant for the necessary time. [39565/24]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 107 and 109 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, introduced in July 2022 under the Croí Cónaithe Towns Fund, supports bringing vacant and derelict properties back into use as homes. A grant of up to €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 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. Properties considered for inclusion must be vacant for two years or more at the time of application with evidence supporting this is required as part of the grant application. Decisions on individual applications are a matter for the local authority.

Grant funding is available for the refurbishment of vacant or derelict properties, including the conversion of commercial or public use properties which have not been used as residential heretofore, subject to planning permission being in place. Agricultural buildings are not eligible for the grant.

When the Croí Cónaithe Towns Fund was launched, a commitment was given that a comprehensive review of the schemes under it, including the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant, would be undertaken by mid 2024. The review has been completed and I am now considering its contents. The types of buildings eligible for the grant has been considered as part review of the scheme.