Moves to introduce a cap on the value of homes eligible for the State’s vacant property grant have been delayed amid internal Government concern about the impact of the move.
The Department of Housing has developed a proposal that would see a cap of €650,000 placed on the value of properties eligible for the grant in the greater Dublin area – Dublin itself, Wicklow, Meath and Kildare.
In effect, it would block purchasers of more expensive homes from accessing the grant.
A lower €500,000 cap to the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant (VPRG), which pays eligible homeowners up to €50,000 or €70,000 for derelict properties, was being considered for the rest of the country. However, this lower cap would impact only around 3 per cent of such properties, though the impact in Dublin would be much greater, according to an analysis done by the department.
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It is understood about 22 per cent of applications in Dublin would fall outside the threshold and therefore would have been ineligible if it was applied.
It is not clear if any cap would apply to properties that have already applied for the grant, or would be put in place going forward.
A Fine Gael source said the party’s view was that the proposal had not been circulated through usual procedures designed to keep various different parts of Government briefed on policies, and had been “pulled” from the Cabinet agenda.
A Fianna Fáil source said that Minister for Housing James Browne had decided to postpone taking the proposal to Cabinet to allow for further consultation with the Department of Public Expenditure. It is understood that a review of the scheme has recommended a cap.
The proposal also sparked concerns amid property professionals, with one estate agent privately saying it was based on a “flawed understanding” that property buyers could afford to fund the purchase and renovations themselves without the grant.
Fine Gael TD for Dublin Bay South James Geoghegan raised concerns about the proposed cap in the Dáil on Tuesday.
He said such a cap would have a “hugely disproportionate impact on Dublin”, where he said close to one in four properties now under the application would not be eligible to receive the grant.
Mr Geoghegan, who is also his party’s spokesman on Dublin, said he hoped a decision was not taken to cap the grant at a level that would reduce the number of houses eligible, “particularly at a time where the Minister for Housing has acknowledged that dereliction in its own right is a form of antisocial behaviour and we’re trying to get people back living in the city centre”.
Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers responded by saying Mr Browne had an “ongoing review” of the grant and that no proposal had yet come to Government.
