Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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186. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of persons who have availed of the vacant property refurbishment grant in each of the past ten years and to date in 2024 [24444/24]

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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187. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the amount of money that has been paid out under the vacant property refurbishment grant scheme in each of the past ten years and to date in 2024. [24445/24]

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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188. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if any local authorities have drawn down money under the vacant property refurbishment grant scheme; if so, if he will list the local authorities; and the amount of grants and the total funding that each received in each of the past ten years and to date in 2024, in tabular form. [24446/24]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 186 to 188, inclusive, together.

Tackling vacancy is a key priority for Government and 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, supports bringing vacant and derelict properties back into use. A grant of up €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, with a top-up grant of €20,000 available for derelict properties.

Over 8,000 grant applications have been received to date with over 4,900 approved. Payment of the Grant to applicants is made on completion of works, as is normal for these kinds of grants. Drawdown of grants commenced at the end of 2023 as works started to be completed and this has steadily increased with 364 grants now paid. I expect this to significantly increase over 2024 as more refurbishment works are completed.

At the outset, the Croí Cónaithe Towns fund aimed to deliver 2,000 homes by 2025. This has since been increased to 4,000.

In acknowledgement of the administrative overheads in managing the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant and the Ready to Build Scheme, my Department provided initial support of up to €180,000 to each local authority. This support was linked to the number of applications received.

My Department publishes data on applications for the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant on its website on a quarterly basis, which includes a breakdown of the grants paid per local authority and the total amount of grants paid, which can be accessed at the following link: Vacancy grant statistics

Grant recoupments to local authorities for grants paid commenced in 2023, with over €13 million in funding issued to local authorities by my Department. The table in the attached document provides a breakdown of grant recoupments per local authority. My Department actively engages with local authorities to submit recoupment claims in a timely manner and ongoing basis.

Grants Recouped to LA's 27/05/24