National repair and lease scheme for vacant houses in the works

A new repair and lease scheme for vacant houses is to be rolled out nationally.

The scheme had been in operation on a pilot basis in Waterford and Carlow for the past number of months. Housing Minister Simon Coveney announced this morning that thirty two million is to be provided for the national roll out which encourages people to rent vacant properties they might own. The scheme will cover the cost of repairs to the houses to give an incentive to owners to rent them in an effort to ease the housing crisis.