Donegal County Council leads the way in restoring 461 vacant and derelict houses

Donegal County Council continues to lead the way across Ireland in the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant scheme.

To date, it’s the leading local authority in the country with more than €26.3 million paid out, returning 461 vacant and derelict homes to active use.

Patricia McIntyre, Donegal County Council Town Regeneration Officer, gave a detailed update on the scheme at today’s monthly meeting of the local authority.

Ms McIntyre said 1,605 applications had been received to date. Of these, 1,141 (72%) have been approved across the county and just 52 (3%) rejected. The combined value of approved applications to the Donegal economy, she added, was around €65 million.

She added that, as of last month, the Donegal residents can also avail of the Vacant Above the Shop Grant of up to €135,000 (€162 for island properties). This can be used for refurbishing vacant commercial upper floors into residential units, with an extra €5,000 available for professional advice.

“There are now many great supports available, and very attractive grants to convert vacant commercial units to residential use,” Ms McIntyre said.

Councillors present at the meeting paid glowing tributes to Ms McIntyre, her colleague, Vacant Homes Officer, Vincent Cranly, and their team.

Cllr Martin Harley noted that 461 grants worth over €26.3m have been paid out by the council. 

“If those started (building) from scratch, the figure would’ve been closer to €124.5 million for the equivalent in new homes,” he said.

“So, we’re getting 1,141 housing units back into use and that would’ve cost the State €300m for new builds.”

While several media outlets were covering the meeting, Cllr Patrick McGowan felt the council should be doing more to promote their efforts.

“A lot of members of the public are still not fully aware of these schemes,” he said.

“Patricia’s team did great work and has the most applications in the country. It’s grand putting this out to local media, but we need to communicate more online and through public workshops. We have a lot of derelict properties and only scratching the surface of it.”

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In response to a question from Cllr Micheal Cholm Mac Giolla Easbuig, Ms McIntyre said vacant farm houses also come under the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant scheme.

In conclusion, she thanked the councillors for their kind words.

“Thanks for all the kind comments, but we could not do the work we’re doing without the members' support. We love what we do and love working with people. I will also take on board Cllr McGowan’s comments in relation to our communications.”