Opposition TDs Fume As Only Two Refurbishment Grants Have Been Issued In Kildare Since The Scheme Opened

Thursday, 20 July 2023 08:05

Reada Cronin and Patricia Ryan have expressed their anger to Kfm

Sinn Féin TDs for Kildare, Reada Cronin and Patricia Ryan have called for urgent action from Government following revelations that two vacant home refurbishment grants have been issued in Kildare, since the scheme opened last year.

Countywide, 36 people have applied for the vacant home refurbishment grant and of those, 22 have been approved.

However, just two have actually been drawn down, despite the scheme opening a year ago.

Nationally, only four grants have been drawn down.

Deputy Cronin said "while two is bad enough, the fact this is half the number of grants issued statewide is absolutely shocking."

“The processing times are too long as councils across the state are struggling with the staff time required to deal with the applications. There are also inconsistencies in how councils are applying the conditions of the grant.

“The Minister needs to step in, sort out the inconsistencies, give the councils the staff they need and make sure that all bank lenders are up to speed with the scheme", she added.

Deputy Ryan told Kfm that she is "hearing a lot of complaints about the scheme. Many lenders are still concerned with the treatment of the council clawback, and are delaying mortgage drawdown."

“Prospective buyers are taking on a big enough risk purchasing and renovating a derelict or vacant home.

“They should not have to deal with all of the issues arising from a scheme that was badly designed, announced before the details were cleared up and is slow to process", she concluded.