Donal Hickey: Expand grant schemes to beat rural decline

Even if it means doubling the vacant/derelict homes grants and offering other incentives, something needs to be done urgently to tackle ongoing decline in the west and south

Nationwide, there are thousands of vacant, or derelict homes and buildings which could be brought back into use. Picture: iStock

There’s a danger that the debate surrounding the easing of planning restrictions on one-off housing in rural areas could distract attention from other aspects of this critical issue.

You have, for instance, thousands of vacant, or derelict, homes which could be brought back into use, something I have personal experience of.

Often, such properties are located in attractive country areas on large, tree-shaded sites with ample ground for extensions, lawns and gardens.

Then there are simple amenities to be enjoyed: space for children to play, walks along quiet boreens and closeness to nature.

Several decades ago at the height of the ‘bungalow bliss’ era, we purchased a small house which had been unoccupied for several years.

On an elevated site, measuring nearly a half-acre, it was surrounded by farmland and close to a national school and GAA grounds.

After living in the house for a few years, the inevitable extension followed. We were there for four decades, and have absolutely no regrets.

Since 2022, grants up to €70,000 are available for restoring vacant/derelict homes, over 3,000 of which were brought back into use, last year, with grant aid.

So far, Cork and Donegal county councils have the highest take-up, each with 1,065 approvals. More than 4,500 houses have benefited from the scheme, nationally.

Even if it means doubling the grants and offering other incentives, something needs to be done urgently to tackle ongoing decline in the west and south.

Extra supports

But is the political will there to do something really effective and meaningful? Specified areas should be designated for attention and given disadvantaged status to quality for extra supports.

To make rural communities viable again, young families urgently need to be attracted back into them to grow the population. Otherwise, schools and shops will continue to close, isolation will worsen and sports clubs will suffer from falling membership.

The late architect, Hugh Wallace, did a magnificent job through his TV programmes showing how abandoned rural houses can be beautifully restored.

Most villages also have such houses, which should make these properties more appealing. However, many villages have lost basic services which were once taken for granted, like shops.

Three such places close to my heart, and straddling the Cork/Kerry border, are Gneeveguilla, Knocknagree and Cullen.

I remember when Gneeveguilla had nine shops, a post office, petrol pumps, and a creamery; craftspeople such as carpenters, a blacksmith, tailor, shoemaker and a harness-maker; all, alas, now gone. One of the village’s two pubs survives.

Some older houses in these villages have been tastefully refurbished, proving that it can be done. Anyone interested should playback Hugh Wallace’s The Great House Revival on RTÉ.