Another of the new measures introduced by the Irish government to kickstart the housing business is the increase in the grants for refurbishing vacant and derelict houses. A grant of up to 30,000 to renovate a vacant house has been increased to 50,000 and the 50,000 grant for derelict houses has been upped to 70,000. Very good news.

Restrictions have been lifted on eligibility. Originally the grants were for people who were going to live in the houses, but now they are open to a homeowner who wishes to renovate a property for rental. This is also good news provided the grants don’t apply to short-termrentals.

Houses built up to 2007 are now included, instead of just properties built before 1993. This opens the gates for a lot of remnant “celtic tiger” stock sitting idly round the country.

The only way to make housing affordable is to up the supply to meet the demand.

This may not be good news for all, but it will feel pretty good to many.

Afterall, action speaks louder than words.