HOUSING MINISTER DARRAGH O’Brien will this morning seek Cabinet approval to extend the Local Authority Home Loan to people who wish to purchase and renovate derelict properties. 

The Local Authority Home Loan was launched in January 2022 as part of Housing for All with the aim of supporting borrowers who are unable to get sufficient finance from commercial banks to buy or build a home.

Currently, the loans are only available on self-build homes, new or second-hand properties that are habitable. 

O’Brien will bring a memo to Cabinet this morning that seeks to extend the scheme to cover purchase and/or renovation of non-habitable homes that are potentially eligible for the Vacant and Derelict Property Grant.

It is understood that it will take a number of months to develop this scheme extension which is expected to be available between April and June next year. 

The Minister will today also be doubling the vacant and derelict property grant scheme target from 2,000 to 4,000.

This comes following strong demand for the grant with over 5,100 applications to date to local authorities. Of these, 2,400 have been approved.

Launched last year, the Vacant and Derelict Property Grant provides funding of up to €50,000 to renovate a vacant property and up to €70,000, if the property is derelict.

Elsewhere, the Minister is also set to provide an update on the Department of Housing’s Housing for All Action Plan today alongside a Q3 2023 Progress Report.

He will also bring a memo to Cabinet today which will see Rent a Room tax relief extended to local authority tenancies. 

This is set to take effect from December 1. It is hoped by the Department and the Minister that the extension of this tax relief will help increase the amount of suitable accommodation available for third level students in the form of digs.

It is set to be extended for an initial 12 months and may be extended following review. 

Under the scheme no tax is paid on the first €14,000 income earned annually from renting out a room in your home.

Nuclear Research

Elsewhere at Cabinet today, Minister for Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Simon Harris will ask Government to approve Ireland’s membership of the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN).

CERN is one of the world’s largest and most respected centres for scientific research.

Minister Harris will ask Government for approval to formally submit an application this month and if agreed, it will be considered by CERN on December 14.

Harris is set to outline how CERN membership will open doors for Ireland’s researchers to participate in it’s scientific programmes and ensure Irish researchers have access to research at the forefront of scientific developments.

If approval is granted to the Irish application Irish citizens will be eligible for staff positions and fellowships at CERN.

Training opportunities for Ireland’s schoolteachers would also be available, along with outreach activities to second-level students.

Access would also be granted to CERN’s formal training schemes which include masters and PhD programmes, apprenticeships, a graduate engineering training scheme, internships for computer scientists and engineers and technical training experience.

Budget 2024 included a provision to allow the application for CERN membership to proceed and any 2024 costs will come from the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science.

The annual funding requirement of €1.9 million for five years, commencing from 2025, is set to be agreed through the estimates process.