A call for urgent action from Government has been made by a local TD following revelations that not a single vacant home refurbishment grant has been issued in Galway since the scheme opened last year.
These startling figures are revealed despite the fact that several hundred people applied for it, but the successful applicants have not drawn them down.
“In Galway, 206 people have applied for the vacant home refurbishment grant – 25 in the city and 181 in the county. Of those, 40 have been approved,” said Sinn Féin TD Mairéad Farrell.
“However, zero have actually been drawn down despite the scheme opening a year ago.
“Talking to applicants across the constituency, I am 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.
“We are also hearing of long processing times as councils are struggling with the staff time required to deal with the application process. There are also inconsistencies in how Councils are applying the conditions of the grant.
“Despite all the promises from Darragh O’Brien, just four grants have been drawn down across the state and zero in Galway.
“The Minister needs to step in, end the inconsistencies, provide councils with the staff and ensure that all bank lenders are up to speed with the scheme.
“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 said.
