The vacant property grant has been a hugely successful initiative introduced by the Government. To date, over €230 million has been paid out nationally with over 15,500 applications. It has been a huge success and I think most people would agree with that because it is tackling two issues: dereliction, which is a blight on our landscape, and, in bringing down dereliction, creating a home for a person going forward. That is what we all want and we need much more of it.

I welcome today's announcement of the grant for what is called over-the-shop vacant property to bring it back into residential use. There is a maximum grant available of up to €140,000 - €95,000 for when one vacant residential unit is created, another €20,000 for a second one and a further €20,000 for a third unit or more. In addition to that, there is a grant of €5,000 available for getting expert advice as to how to go about converting the vacant commercial space to residential use. It is hugely positive.

I was happy to chair an Oireachtas committee meeting a number of months ago on the property market generally. We had a presentation from the Institute of Professional Auctioneers and Valuers, IPAV, along with a number of architects and others. They all made the case for this particular scheme and I am glad the Government has listened to them. This scheme makes perfect sense because we are all aware of many vacant units above shops in our towns and villages that have been lying idle for years. I hope this grant will now encourage those owners to convert that vacant space into residential use and create a home for some person, because all the services are there - water, sewerage and whatever - and it brings the dereliction issue to task. It is a hugely positive initiative and I look forward to many people taking it up.