Some €2.5m paid in grants for restoring previously vacant Offaly homes

New figures show that just under €2.5m has been paid out by the Government in grants to property owners for works carried out to bring 45 previously vacant or derelict Offaly homes back into residential use.

The payments were made through the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant scheme, which is administered by local authorities.

Since the scheme began, three years ago, nearly 170 applications for the grant have so far been approved in Offaly - but the funding of up to €70,000 per property is only paid after the refurbishment works have been carried out.

"There is a time lag between being awarded a grant and receiving it, as grants are paid out on completion of work and the provision of necessary paperwork," stated the Department, though it added that the number of grants being paid "continues to rise significantly each quarter" as works on properties are completed.

In Offaly, 231 applications have so far been received for the scheme, with 169 of these approved and three rejected to date. The grants were paid out in respect of works completed at 45 properties, with a total of €2,468,631 in funding being shared.

Nationally, just over €155 million has been paid out to Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant applicants as a contribution to bringing 2,856 homes back into residential use from vacancy.

By the end of June this year, Donegal County Council had the highest number of applications received, 1,247, of which 922 have been approved and 226 paid out.

"I am pleased at the serious impact the vacant property refurbishment grant delivers," said Housing Minister James Browne.

"The good work shown by this grant continues to grow, with the increase in payments reflecting the fact that more vacant and derelict properties are being brought back into use across the country.

"I take a very firm, indeed grim view of any properties left to lie vacant at this point in time," he said.