Mayo Deputy Paul Lawless has called for a reform of the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant, in order to improve the success rate for applicants.
Vacancy rates in the west of Ireland, he says, are very concerning and the rate in Mayo is north of 10% despite there being a housing crisis.
The Aontú TD believes that the introduction of the grant was really positive but it needs to be changed to increase the success rate for applicants.
According to Deputy Lawless, over 11,000 applied for the grant with over 8,000 approvals, yet roughly 90% (around 1,100) have not proceeded to renovations.
He has been outlining the problems with the grant to Midwest Radio’s Rian Bailey….
