Vacant property refurbishment grant should rise to €120,000, says Mayo councillor

A member of Mayo County Council’s Housing Special Policy Committee (SPC) has called for the maximum grant for refurbishing vacant properties to rise to €120,000.

Cllr Neil Cruise said the rates for the Croí Cónaithe grant scheme needed to be revised upwards to account for increased construction costs.

Under the scheme, successful applicants can obtain a maximum of €50,000 to refurbish a vacant house and up to €70,000 for a derelict property.

In 2024, €1,903,420 was granted for the refurbishment of 34 vacant properties in Mayo. Mayo County Council received a total of 49 applications to the scheme last year, 48 of which were approved. A total of 34 grants have been issued following the completion of the works.

Over €4.3 million in Croí Cónaithe grants have been drawn down in Mayo since the scheme was established in July 2022. Eighty-three vacant properties have been brought back into use through funding from the scheme. Mayo County Council has received 673 applications to date and approved 452 of these.

Speaking at the February meeting of Mayo County Council’s Housing SPC, Cllr Cruise (Fine Gael) said the current grant ‘is not enormous’ considering the cost of refurbishing vacant units.

“I think it’s a little bit behind the times with regards to the prices people are paying for work, the prices people are properties,” he said.

Cllr Michael Kilcoyne raised concern about the grant not being paid until refurbishment works were fully completed.

“There are many people who even after buying a derelict house, don’t have the money to spend. Even if it could be paid in phases, that would make a big difference to people,” said the Independent councillor

Mayo TD, Alan Dillon, said he expects a continued increase in the number of grants paid under Croí Cónaithe in 2025.