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06 Sept 2025
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06 Sept 2025
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A renovated cottage in Tipperary.
Laois is ahead of Offaly and Kilkenny in paying out Vacant Property Refurbishment Grants, to homeowners renovating vacant and derelict houses.
However it is still far behind some other counties, with 67 grants paid in Laois compared to
Since the grant launched in mid 2022, over €112 million has been paid out to Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant applicants, bringing almost 2,100 homes back into residential use from vacancy nationwide.
In Laois, 67 grants have been paid out, totalling €3.68 million. More will follow as people complete their renovations and then apply to receive the approved cash.
Laois County Council has received 215 applications and approved 162. Nine applications were rejected.
Neighbour Offaly is close to the same numbers of applications. It received 210, approved 153 and rejected three. Offaly County Council have however so far paid just 37 grants, totalling just above €2m.
Kilkenny got 269 applications, approving 190 and rejecting four. Kilkenny County Council have paid just 34 grants. The value the grants paid amounts to €1.82 million.
However Kildare with a bigger population, received 314 applications, approving 241 but rejecting 19. Kildare County Council have paid 115 grants, amounting to nearly €6.4m.
Since the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant, also called the Croí Cónaithe grant came into effect, 12,404 applications have been received across Ireland.
Donegal County Council has received the highest number of applications at 1,114, Donegal County Council approved 811 of those and have so far paid 139 grants totalling €7.5m.
Cork County Council got the next highest number of applications at 1,063 followed by Mayo County Council with 740 applications received and 116 grants paid out.
Minister for Housing James Browne TD has welcomed the progress, as the goverment releases an Interactive Map showing the rates of grants per county.
“The momentum of this grant continues to build, with another significant increase in grants being paid on completion of works as more vacant and derelict properties are brought back into use as homes for people across the country.
“The grant is making a significant and important contribution to cities, towns, villages and rural areas, supporting people to bring these vacant and derelict properties back into use as homes and in tandem with that – helping to revitalise communities,” he said.
The grant is paid following completion of approved works. Applicants since May 2023 have 13 months from approval date to finish the works (prior to May 2023 applicants had 18 months to complete works)
"Grant payments have significantly increased as more refurbishment works are completed on properties. It is expected that this trend will continue as approved applicants complete refurbishment projects," the Department of Housing says.
Individuals who own or are in the process of purchasing a vacant property can avail of a grant of up to €50,000 for vacant properties, with a maximum grant of €70,000 for derelict properties. The maximum rate of the grant payable is 20% higher for eligible vacant and derelict properties on qualifying islands. The grant is also available for former commercial or public use buildings which are being converted into residential homes and above the shop type conversions, subject to appropriate planning permission/ planning exemption.
The grant is subject to certain conditions including; The property must be vacant for a period of 2 years or more at the time of application. The property must be built on or before 2008. Proof of ownership is required to support the grant application.
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