Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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57. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government for an update on the Croí Cónaithe scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42643/24]

Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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63. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government for an overview of how many Croí Cónaithe applications have been made and processed in Cork city and county for 2023 and to date in 2024; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42877/24]

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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66. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of properties for which a vacant homes grant has been approved; the number of properties where a grant has been paid; whether he is concerned that the number of paid grants is much lower than the number approved even allowing a reasonable time to carry out the work; the steps he intends taking to deal with this issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42859/24]

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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70. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government whether it is intended to change the terms and conditions of the vacant property refurbishment grant to extend the timeframe in which work has to be completed, taking into account the shortage of registered contractors available for such work and the knock-on delay caused by the Covid pandemic to building works in general; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42858/24]

Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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73. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government to provide the latest figures for drawdowns by local authority area for the vacant property refurbishment and vacancy grants. [42864/24]

Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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I ask the Minister for an overview of how many Croí Cónaithe applications have been made and processed in Cork city and county for 2023 and 2024.

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 57, 63, 66, 70 and 73 together.

The vacant property refurbishment grant, or the Croí Cónaithe towns grant, is a key support introduced by this Government to bring vacant and derelict properties back into use. It is a significant grant. 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 to rent in the long-term rental market. 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 one-off homes across the country. The level of interest in the grant and its take-up have been significant since it was launched. To date, more than 10,200 grant applications have been received across local authorities and more than have been 6,800 approved. Payment of grants by local authorities commenced at the end of 2023. While there was some criticism of the slow drawdown of the grants, I am not aware of any other grant that is paid upfront before the work is actually done. That what was asked for by some on the opposite side of the House. We are seeing this increase, with more than 930 grants now paid. That is 930 properties that are completed where the grant is paid out. I expect this trend to continue, with the number of grants paid significantly increasing over the coming months as more refurbishment works are completed. Payment of the grant on completion of works is normal for these kinds of grants, such as the SEAI grants and housing adaptation grants, which are also paid when works are completed. Given the need to protect Exchequer funding, it is considered reasonable that the grant is paid at this point.

My Department publishes data on the grant, including numbers of applications and grants paid, on its website on a quarterly basis, providing breakdowns by local authority. The statistics for quarter 3 of 2024 were published yesterday, and I will arrange for the relevant web link to be circulated with the Official Report. Once a grant application receives approval, applicants have a period of 13 months to complete the approved works. However, where an applicant is experiencing particular issues and cannot complete the works under the grant within this 13-month period, the local authority may consider and grant an extension of the approval period at its discretion on a case-by-case basis. My Department issued a circular to all local authorities in October 2023 in this regard, with a further communication issued this month. Where an applicant is experiencing difficulty in complying with the timeline or anticipates doing so, it is recommended that they make direct contact with the vacant homes officer in their relevant local authority area.

When the Croí Cónaithe towns fund was launched, a commitment was given that a 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 considering its contents. I expect to be able to make recommendations to Government in due course regarding the grant and any changes that might be merited. The grant is making a real impact in addressing vacancy in areas of our cities, towns and villages and rural areas across the country and is making the purchase and refurbishment of these properties a more affordable option for those seeking to purchase their own home. Between the vacant property refurbishment grant and the SEAI grants, there is up to €100,000 now available to help people bring a vacant home back into use. In April this year, an update on the vacant homes action plan, which sets out the various actions being pursued by this Government to return vacant properties back into use, was published. The grant, alongside a suite of other measures introduced, shows this Government's commitment to tackling vacancy and bringing these properties back into use as homes.

We have changed the local authority home loan, which was a very significant one, and brought in a low-interest bridging loan because some people, and many Deputies, raised the issue for some applicants of actually of doing the work and waiting for the grant to be paid at the end of it. Through the local authorities, we now allow the local authority home loan to be used against vacant and derelict properties. That was never allowed before and is a significant change. Alongside that, with the same application, buyers can apply for a low-interest bridging loan for the grant amount. A buyer can accelerate and do that work and simply pay it back within 18 months. We have had applications for that too. There is a real opportunity for us to continue to accelerate the process of bringing vacant and derelict properties back into use. It makes a massive difference for the homeowner or the person renting the home. There is a benefit to the community, town, village, rural area or city to have these properties that have been vacant for such a long time brought back into use. I have visited many of them across the country and intend to do so later this week when I am in Cork city and county. It is something we are committed to. I would like to see it extended. I would not like to see it restricted or indeed abolished. The main Opposition party has proposed, inexplicably, to scrap a grant that is actually working. Sinn Féin wants to return all this to the local authorities. Its members are not in the Chamber to answer for themselves because they are not here. It shows how important questions on housing are to Sinn Féin and others.

Getting back to Deputy O'Sullivan's point, I know he and other colleagues are very supportive of this. We want to see this grant extended further. I would like to see it being a mainstay for the remainder of the decade.

Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister is right. I would love to see it extended and enhanced, if possible. To be fair to the Minister and the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, in the few years I have been in the House listening to them fielding questions on housing, they have always said the most efficient house to bring back into circulation is the house that is already built. That is why this grant is so important.

The Minister stated the report is currently with him and he will issue the recommendations in due course. Does "due course" mean before the end of this year? People might otherwise be engaged and I am very keen to see it published, if that is the case. Do the recommendations also include the provision to reduce property vacancy from 24 months to 12? Is that being considered? I know the Minister will not give me a definitive answer, but he might comment on whether it is being considered. The Minister said the overall number of overall applications were 10,200, of which 6,800 were approved. To clarify, does that mean 3,400 were refused or does it mean there are many outstanding?

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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This scheme is a great idea. The Minister knows I am big supporter of it. The number of applications is satisfactory. It will bring a lot of houses back to life. I noticed the scheme seems to be much more successful in rural areas, which highlights an ongoing physical difficulty of doing up terraced houses. The Minister said 930 applications have been paid out, which is approximately 10%. That seems low. The Minister also said an extension to 13 months is also possible. People are coming to me who are hitting the wall and getting the work done, but have not completed it. Can they get second extensions and so on? Is that absolute discretion with the local authority, or is there a limit to the time given? If they were doing nothing, that would be fair enough, but if progress is being made, it would be a pity not to let the applicants finish. Were there any discussions with the credit unions about providing bridging finance? The local authority home loan is an interesting idea, but credit unions should have been much more proactive in this.

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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I might give some figures first, which might be helpful to the Deputies. In Cork city, 318 applications were received, of which 241 were approved. Only nine were rejected. The other applications are being processed and applications are still coming in. A total of 28 grants have been paid out in Cork city. That figure will accelerate substantially over the coming months. We are budgeting for approximately €94 million to be paid out through the grant this year, because we see where the 13-month period is, to answer Deputy Ó Cuív. In County Cork, 860 applications were received, of which 617 were approved and 54 were paid out.

A total of 454 applications were received in Galway, of which 281 were approved and 22 were rejected.

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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Is that the city or the county?

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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That is County Galway. Galway city is behind and we have engaged with the council. A total of 79 applications were received, of which 58 were approved. I can provide these details to Deputies across local authorities. To answer Deputy Ó Cuív's question, extensions can be granted.

I have not had any case come back to me where a local authority said it would not extend it if it was reasonable to do so. We are not telling them not to.

Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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Deputy Ó Cuív took my second supplementary question. It related to bridging finance and whether any directions or guidelines have been issued by the Department or the Department of Finance to credit unions or other financial institutions in respect of the provision of bridging finance. This is a no-brainer. I would like it to happen.

The urban-rural divide is obvious in figures relating to Galway and Cork, as Deputy Ó Cuív highlighted. Going back to the recommendations in the report, can any further enhanced incentives be provided, especially in urban areas, given the disparity in the figures relating to the level of uptake.

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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When people talk about reviews of schemes that are working, I always worry that someone will have a rush of blood to the head and suspend a particular scheme while a review is being carried out. This scheme is successful. Why break something that is working successfully? The Minister referred to approximately 10,000 applications. Allowing that some will be rejected, if 9,000 houses were done and paid for, that would be a massive increase in the housing stock in situ. That would be major progress. If the rate of refurbishment is approximately 5,000 per year, will the Minister indicate the percentage of new available houses on the market that represents? That is relevant. It is significant, but how significant is it as an addition to the stock of available houses for people to rent in the long term? The great thing about this scheme is that people can only get the grant if they live in the property or it is being rented long-term.

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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Local authorities can identify houses that are derelict and go down the compulsory purchase order, CPO, route. Does the Minister have any indication of how many houses might be eligible for the vacant property grant? Is there any link between what the local authorities are doing in identifying vacant properties and the vacant property tax, which might act as an incentive for people to avail of the grant and bring properties back into use?

Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent)
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I will give the Minister one minute to answer the three questions.

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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On bridging finance, the local authority home loan is useful. I meet representatives from the three main banks regularly. I have met representatives of PTSB, AIB and Bank of Ireland to discuss this matter. The retail banks are pushing towards the green mortgages, which would be ideal to lend on and provide bridging finance. The meetings I had with them were positive. I have not met the credit unions. I know there has been engagement with them on this and that some credit unions are lending on the basis of the grant certificate being issued. There is a real opportunity for financial institutions to do something for their communities and for prospective homeowners.

On the percentage of properties, if we are to deliver 40,000 homes this year, we are tracking the vacant homes coming back into use. I am tracking the vacant homes coming through the Croí Cónaithe grants in our affordable housing listings, once the work has been concluded. We can scale this up even further.

Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent)
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I thank the Minister.

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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I assure Deputies that the review was sought by the three Ministers. Its purpose is not to stop this; I want to see it evolve, accelerate and improve in the future. It should be a mainstay from a climate perspective and from the perspective of urban and rural regeneration. I expect that we will come forward with some changes for above-the-shop accommodation very shortly.

Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent)
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I thank the Minister. I have been very flexible

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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I know.