County councillors have called for more financial supports for those looking to buy and renovate derelict homes.

Call for renovation grants

A motion was passed at Cork County Council this week aiming to provide more flexible supports for first-time home buyers while also tackling dereliction.

Fianna Fáil Cllr Gearoid Murphy’s motion coincided with the announcement of a new €30,000 Government grant for buyers who acquire previously vacant properties. Details of the grant were brought to cabinet on Tuesday by Minister for Housing Darragh O'Brien.

In light of the announcement, Cllr Murphy amended his motion to express the importance of financial assistance being given to first time buyers who acquire an older property in need of renovation.

Cllr Murphy said the support would specifically cover the cost of renovation as opposed to the cost of acquiring the property.

He said: “With increasing inflation, and particularly the inflation of construction, it's unfortunately becoming less and less attractive for a first time buyer to acquire a property which is not in turn key condition.”

Cllr Murphy added that, in many cases, it would take relatively moderate renovations in order to modernise a given property.

“We've heard before that the most sustainable house is a house which is already built. You cannot get more sustainable than that,” he said.

Cllr Murphy also pointed out that his motion could go some way in addressing what he described as “a huge shortage of tradespeople in this country”.

He said: “What this motion seeks to achieve would not be a silver bullet in tackling the cost of renovating older houses. I believe the cost of renovation and construction price inflation cannot be fully tackled in the short-term but can only be achieved in the long-term by encouraging young people to take up trades and by promoting trades as an attractive career choice.”

Seconding the motion was Fianna Fáil Cllr Pat Hayes who said that, in terms of the environment and sustainability, older properties are “the way to go”.

“There are a lot of older vacant properties in towns and villages. The more help we can give people, especially first time buyers, the better,” he said. Independent Cllr Mary Linehan Foley also praised Cllr Murphy’s motion, saying that it “covered a lot of angles”.

The former county mayor said: “We're blighted with dereliction. There's no shortage of properties in our towns and villages that are crying out to be renovated.” Full details of the Government’s €30,000 grant are expected to be announced today, Thursday.