Almost a third of all money paid out under the vacant property refurbishment grant in Kerry was issued in the last quarter of 2024.
According to the Department of Housing’s figures, over €2 million has now been paid out in the grant, which was launched in 2022.
The number of grants being approved and payments issued is ramping up, with over €700,000 paid out in just the last three months of last year.
The vacant property refurbishment grant was introduced in the summer of 2022, in an effort to incentivise people to renovate existing vacant properties to increase housing supply.
A grant of €50,000 is available to turn a vacant property into a permanent home or rental property, and an additional €20,000 is available if the property is also derelict.
The grants are paid out after the works are completed.
There had been criticism of the rate of applications being approved and number of payments issued in Kerry, but the approval rate and number of grants being paid out has increased significantly in the last 18 months.
Between July 2022 and December 2024, Kerry County Council received 541 applications, just over half of which have been approved.
43 grant payments have been issued, with a total value of over €2.3 million.
In the last three months of 2024 alone, more applications were approved than were received in Kerry, with some of those made in the previous quarter.
14 of the 43 grants paid out were done so in just the last quarter of the year, with over €708,000 paid out in the last quarter alone.
The standard of applications had also been criticised by Kerry County Council’s Director of Housing, leading to a high rate of failed grant applications.
Between October and December last year, just one application was rejected.
Minister for Housing James Browne said the rapid increase in grant payments in Kerry shows the scheme is growing momentum, helping to tackle vacancy and provide much-needed housing.
