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Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys, today welcomed the announcement by Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O'Brien, of the new Croí Cónaithe (Towns) Fund.
The new Scheme will provide grants of up to a maximum of €30,000 for the refurbishment of vacant properties for occupation as a principal private residence. Where the refurbishment costs are expected to exceed the standard grant of up to €30,000, a maximum top-up grant amount of up to €20,000 will be available where the property is confirmed by the applicant to be derelict (i.e. structurally unsound and dangerous) bringing the total grant available for a derelict property up to a maximum of €50,000.
Commenting on the occasion of the announcement, Minister Humphreys said:
“This is a hugely important scheme for individuals and families throughout the country who are trying to secure a home. It will also play a decisive role in addressing the issue of vacancy and dereliction which faces many rural communities.”
The Minister continued:
“By supporting people to renovate vacant properties as Minister O’Brien is enabling through this new Fund, we not only support more people to live, work and raise families in rural areas, but we also revitalise our rural areas for the benefit of everyone.”
This scheme follows a commitment under the national rural development policy, Our Rural Future, to introduce new supports and incentives for the refurbishment of vacant properties.
It directly complements other supports provided by the Department of Rural and Community Development such as the new 2022 Building Acquisition Measure which provides up to €400,000 to each local authority to purchase vacant and derelict buildings for future development as community assets, and the broader Town and Village Renewal Scheme which is designed to rejuvenate small rural towns and villages throughout Ireland.
Our Rural Future is the whole-of-government policy for rural Ireland for the period 2021-2025. It represents a new milestone in the approach to rural development policy for Ireland.
The policy’s objectives will be achieved through the delivery of 161 measures, to be implemented progressively over the life of the policy across a range of government departments and agencies. Annual work programmes enable new actions to be added over the policy’s lifecycle, to respond to the emerging needs of rural communities.
Delivery of actions in the 2022 Work Programme will be monitored through the publication of 6-monthly Progress Reports.