8,800 vacant homes in Kerry could benefit from an expansion of a vacant and derelict property refurbishment grant.
The Croí Cónaithe fund announced this summer, allows people to receive grants of between €30,000 to €50,000 to refurbish vacant and derelict properties.
The fund originally applied to towns and villages only, but has now been expanded to include cities and rural areas, which has been welcomed by Kerry Fine Gael TD Brendan Griffin.
The properties must either be vacant for over two years, or certified as derelict, and be built before 1993 to be eligible for the grant.
Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Peter Burke, says incentives work better in addressing the problem of vacancy and dereliction rather than penalites.
Senator Rebecca Moynihan, Labour spokesperson on housing, local government and heritage, says 8,800 properties in Kerry are currently vacant, according to the latest census data.
