The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage has announced a new €5,000 grant for owners of traditional houses and vacant farmhouses.

The Conservation Advice Grant Scheme follows a pilot scheme rolled out last year and is intended to support owners of traditional houses who are availing of or considering the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant to bring vacant or derelict buildings back into residential use.

The scheme will provide successful applicants grants to cover 67% of the costs (up to a maximum of €5,000), once a conservation expert has assessed the site, conducted a survey and compiled tailored conservation advice to the applicant.

Then a report will be drawn up, which outlines the condition of the building and identifies any repairs or improvements which would enhance the character, energy efficiency and bring the property back to life.

Expansion

Minister of State for nature, heritage and electoral reform Malcolm Noonan said that the expansion of this grant to “a wider range of historic building in both urban and rural areas” will help the conservation of both “important and historically neglected parts of our traditional building stock” in the hopes of tackling the ongoing issue of “vacancy and dereliction” in our country.

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage Darragh O’Brien believes that this is a great opportunity to “bring fresh energy and vibrancy to our countryside and to cities, towns and villages across Ireland”.

He added once “appropriate skills and techniques” are used for the project, rural dwellers have the opportunity to bring back the “character of our towns and rural landscapes and providing quality family homes while respecting the unique nature of the buildings”.

Eligibility

Buildings that qualify for the new grant are branched into stream one and stream two.

Stream one is aimed to support the town centre first and housing for all policy programmes. It is open to owners of vacant traditional buildings where the property is a protected structure and/or an historic structure within an architectural conservation area.

Stream two of the scheme is aimed at vacant traditional farmhouses where the building is a protected structure and/or an historic farmhouse within an architectural conservation area and/or a vernacular farmhouse without statutory protection.

Properties must be vacant for two years or more at the time of application.

Applications must be made by the deadline of 5pm on 31 July 2024.

The Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant provides a grant of up to €50,000 to renovate a vacant property or €70,000 to renovate a derelict property.