Paul Lawless (Mayo, Aontú)
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797. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the total number of persons who have applied for the vacant property refurbishment grant in each local authority in each of the past five years, in tabular form. [1617/25]

Paul Lawless (Mayo, Aontú)
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798. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the total number of persons who have successfully availed of the vacant property refurbishment grant in each local authority in the past five years, in tabular form. [1618/25]

Paul Lawless (Mayo, Aontú)
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799. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the total number of rejected applications for the vacant property refurbishment grant in each local authority in the past five years, in tabular form. [1619/25]

Paul Lawless (Mayo, Aontú)
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800. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the average timeframe for processing applications for the vacant property refurbishment grant. [1620/25]

Paul Lawless (Mayo, Aontú)
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801. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the average length of time it takes an applicant to draw down funds, that is, the timeframe in which an applicant is successful and monies are transferred from local authority to applicant under the vacant property refurbishment grant. [1621/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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The Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant, introduced in July 2022, is a key support to bring 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. A top-up grant of up to €20,000 is available where the property is derelict, bringing the total grant available for a derelict property up to €70,000. The Grant is available in respect of vacant and derelict properties built prior to 2008, in towns, villages, cities and rural areas.

The level of interest in and take-up of the Grant has been significant since it was launched. To date over 11,400 grant applications have been received across local authorities and over 7,700 approved. Payment of grants by local authorities commenced at the end of 2023, as refurbishment works started to be completed, and this has steadily increased. I expect this trend to continue, with the number of grants paid significantly increasing over the coming months as more refurbishment works are completed.

The average application processing time, i.e. the time from receipt of the application to a decision being made by local authorities, varies across local authorities, with a current average of some 15 weeks. The processing of applications includes a site visit being undertaken by the local authority. However this time period is significantly reduced in cases where a completed application with all required documentation is submitted to the local authority.

In order to support the timely delivery of properties back into use, from May 2023, once a Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant application receives approval, applicants must complete works applied for within a period of 13 months. In exceptional circumstances, where an applicant is experiencing particular issues and cannot complete the works applied for under the grant within the 13 month period, the local authority may consider and grant an extension of the approval period at their discretion. My Department issued a circular to all local authorities in October 2023 in this regard.

Since its introduction in 2022, my Department publishes data on the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant on its website on a quarterly basis. This includes a breakdown per local authority of the total number of grant applications received, the number approved, rejected and the number of grants paid. This data can be accessed at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/collection/4bbe4-vacant-property-refurbishment-grant-statistics/#:~:text=A%20grant%20of%20up%20to,property%20up%20to%20%E2%82%AC70%2C000. The Q4 2024 statistics are currently being verified and will be published in due course.