Tuesday, 20 October 2026
Donegal County Council is delighted to report that grant payments of the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant Scheme have now exceeded €34.4m, which represents 600 homes being brought back into use.
The continued success of the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant Scheme is helping to create more housing opportunities across Donegal, supporting individuals and families who want to live, work and build their future in the county.
Since the Scheme opened in July 2022, 1727 applications have been received to refurbish vacant properties for residential use. To date, 1336 of these have been approved for grant support, with the balance awaiting further information from the applicant or being scheduled for a first technical inspection. Within the overall total, 55 applications were deemed not to meet the scheme requirements.
Eamonn Brown, Director of Services for Planning, Community and Culture said “the Council is delighted with the uptake of the scheme, that provides grants of up to €84,000 to address the significant issue of vacancy and dereliction in the County as well as providing new family homes. The level of funding available under the scheme is significant, not alone to the individual applicant but to the general economy here in Donegal”.
Gary Doherty, Cathaoirleach of Donegal County Council, said “the Grant scheme provides a significant incentive to the owners of vacant properties to bring properties back into use for family homes for themselves or as a long-term rental home for others, in addition to significant benefits for the local economy and community. I strongly encourage owners of vacant properties to contact the team to explore the supports available to bring properties back into use”.
The Council also invite owners of Vacant Spaces adjoining or above commercial premises to consider uptake of the “Above the Shop” grant which is gathering momentum. Funding of up to €135,000.00 may be available for qualifying properties. Currently Donegal County Council have 4 applications received for this scheme with significant interest shown by others.
Further information on the scheme is available at www.donegalcoco.ie or by contacting the team at vacanthomes@donegalcoco.ie or by phone during office hours at 074 9153900.
