Mayo councillors call for Vacant Homes Grant reform as widening gap between approvals and payouts is blamed on admin overload
A councillor has called for reforms to the Croí Cónaithe Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant Scheme, as the gap between approved applications and processed payments continues to grow.
At the April meeting of Mayo County Council, Peter Flynn highlighted figures from the Chief Executive’s report showing that 739 grants have been approved to date, with a further 103 being processed.
However, he noted that just 224 have been paid out in full.
Cllr Flynn said the issue does not lie with council officials, but with the administrative process applicants must follow to draw down funding.
“What seems to have evolved is we have turned it into a small industry,” he said, pointing to the “amount of time and effort” required from applicants to track and submit receipts, particularly for those carrying out works through direct labour.
“Be it for €5, €50, €105 or €100,000, every receipt needs to be included in that claim,” he said. “It really is turning into a small industry, and it is not bringing any value to the scheme.”
He tabled a motion calling on Mayo County Council to write to the Department of Housing, as well as the county’s five TDs, asking for the scheme to be amended in order to improve the gap between approvals and payouts.
Under Cllr Flynn’s proposal, grant payments would be made on a certification basis, allowing funds to be drawn down at key stages of completion, subject to sign-off by a council engineer.
“The money would be paid on a certification basis, rather than this idea of collecting every single receipt,” he said, adding that receipts would be retained for random audit purposes rather than needing to be submitted individually.
“We need to get to a system where we are encouraging people to get this done, and where they don’t have to have small accounting systems in the background to keep track of it all,” he added.
The motion was supported by Cllr Donna Sheridan, who said she had first-hand experience of the administrative workload involved.
“I was that person,” she said. “I sat for evening after evening for probably three weeks scanning in receipts. The amount of paperwork and administration that comes with drawing down that grant is huge.”
Cllr Sheridan said she is aware of a number of people who have “given up” on the grant due to the administrative burden involved.
She also pointed out that different elements of the refurbishment works have set grant values. For example, works such as bathroom fitting and tiling may receive between €2,500 and €3,500.
“Once someone has their bathroom tiled, that amount should be given out,” she said, arguing that a staged payment approach would be more practical.
Cllr Sheridan also noted that Vacant Above the Shop grants have now been approved and said greater public awareness of available supports is needed.
She suggested expanding the council’s information evenings, which cover the Croí Cónaithe scheme and other supports such as SEAI grants, to help applicants better understand the new grant.
This article has been funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.