Michael Cahill (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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696. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if an application for storm damage funding (details supplied) will be expedited; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48859/25]

Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South-West, Fianna Fail)
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The National Built Heritage Service (NBHS) within my Department provides financial support for the protection of eligible heritage buildings and historic structures through the Built Heritage Investment Scheme (BHIS) and the Historic Structures Fund (HSF), which are both, in the main, administered by the local authorities. The BHIS provides grants of between €2,500 and €50,000 for a wide range of conservation works. The window for applications under the BHIS for 2026 is currently open. The HSF provides grants of between €50,000 and €200,000 for similar works at a larger scale. The application window for the HSF is expected to open later this year.

As part of the annual process to administer the BHIS grant scheme, the deadline for all BHIS funding applications for 2025 to reach local authorities was 27 September 2024. In light of the unexpected damage to property caused by Storm Eowyn earlier this year, several local authorities contacted my Department regarding properties which had suffered damage as a result of this storm. Given the circumstances, and to facilitate any urgent applications being considered for funding in 2025 rather than waiting for the 2026 scheme, in April my Department issued an email to local authorities permitting them, on a one-off basis, to retrospectively add applications seeking support for conservation repair of damage caused by the storm to their lists of reserve projects for the 2025 BHIS scheme. Any such applications had to meet the pre-existing criteria under the BHIS scheme, which include the building type, its status as a protected structure, the conservation efficacy of the works proposed, the matched funding requirements, and the maximum funding under the scheme of €50,000 per project.

All local authorities operate such a reserve list of BHIS applications which they have not received sufficient funding to support in each year, and under the terms of the circular they are permitted to reallocate any surplus funding from projects that did receive approval but that may not have been in a position to progress or complete their works prior to the closing date at the end of the year. All Departmental funding for BHIS this year has been fully committed to date, but it is possible that the local authority may have some additional funding which they are in a position to re-allocate, and the applicant should contact the Architectural Conservation Officer within Kerry County Council for further details. Should this not be possible in 2025 given budgetary constraints, applications for the 2026 scheme are currently open, with a closing date of 24 September 2025. As such, a new application for the structure in question could be made to Kerry County Council seeking funding under their 2026 allocation, subject to its eligibility under the terms of the scheme.