Not financially viable to do up derelict houses - new report

Grant scheme provides up to €30,000 in grants for people to restore a vacant property to live in as their main home. If a property is derelict, that grant rises to €50,000. File picture: Frank O'Connor and Jude Sherry

Incentives are currently way off what is needed to tackle vacancy and dereliction, with only a quarter of said buildings across Ireland considered "financially viable" without grants, a major new study has found.

The Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (SCSI) study found that if current grants were increased by €50,000 to €100,000, then the number of properties becoming financially viable would almost instantly double.