Labour TD Alan Kelly is calling on the Government to reform the Croí Conaithe(Vacant Property Refurbishment) scheme.
The Government scheme provides funds to refurbish a vacant property for residential use either by the owner or on a rental basis.
The Tipperary TD is highlighting that once approved for the scheme, people have 13 months to carry out the works which he says is not a realistic or reasonable time frame, and it’s putting people off applying for the grant.
57,206 homes are vacant according to Local Property Tax returns. Census estimates are much higher at 166,752 units – that figure doesn’t include the 66,135 properties recorded as seasonal holiday homes.
Tipperary County Council has sanctioned 211 Croí Conaithe Vacant Homes Grant applications worth over €11.337m but approved applicants are being put under financial pressure due to a delay in paying the funding according to Deputy Kelly. The Nenagh based TD wants greater flexibility in the scheme to encourage more applicants.
