Room to Improve (v2)

I could'nt care less where they got their own money from. But as Dermot Bannon said a few weeks ago, this seasons shows are all about the grants. So many people around the country are thinking of upgrading heating or insulation or maybe doing a small renovation or even getting an old cottage or house and doing it up.

The show is not transparent, far from it. I would say it is even murkier than trying to find what Tubs was paid by RTE. A school teacher and a business owner that can afford to blow approx 700k ( between the house cost of 303k and building of the "new-build" as the q.s. called it ) getting an extra 100k of grants in order to build a better Bannon glass box extension is not aging well. And not just that, most people inc neighbours are of the opinion the house was not vacant for the 2 years?

Why should some people who spend money on renovations get €99,000 and other people who spend money on renovations not get 99,000, depending on peoples different definitions of derelict or vacant.

There were / are "more" vacant and "more" derelict houses elsewhere in the country refused grant money. Its like the "who you know" "Tubrity-RTE" " Galway races tent" "planning scandals" type of wink wink nudge nudge that annoys me. Why the inconsistencies in different areas?

99k net takes 200k gross to save / earn for most people, it is a lot to lose. Because you are not "inner circle"?

Correct.

You do not even need water damage, by the look of it. Or vacate it for 2 years? And the gain would be more than €54k , as the rent lost is taxable ( and in much of the country would not be 18k a year anyway ), and the 99k in grants is tax free / would be like 99k in after tax income.

They could be working full time since they’re 20/21. Any primary school teachers I know have always been sensible people.

Grants are there to be applied for. Anyone in their position would be stupid not to apply.

Do people not avail of the free book or gp schemes for their children because they can afford them?

A load of jealousy and begrudgery is all.

It looks to me like the build was done without planning permission, there's an approved application in for retention, applied late 2023. I find it most weird that a DB build would go ahead for TV and promote grants without any planning permission. That's just plain wrong and up there with cowboy builders.

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I couldn't find anything submitted by DB on the planning website before the build.