A scheme which targets the refurbishment of vacant homes must be extended to rural areas, a Fine Gael TD has urged.

The Croí Cónaithe scheme was introduced in July and supports people who wish to turn a formerly vacant house or building into their principal private residence and become part of a local community.

The maximum grant available is €50,000, but the scheme is currently limited to properties in towns and villages with a population of over 400 people.

Fine Gael TD Ciaran Cannon has called for the scheme to be made available to rural areas with populations above 400. This call comes after Cannon received numerous queries about the scheme from people who live in rural areas, outside of towns and villages.

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Deputy Cannon said: "In my time as a public representative I have rarely seen such a positive response to a government housing initiative as I have seen with the Croí Cónaithe scheme. It has prompted numerous calls to my office from people seeking additional information and advice on how they can secure the grant.

"However, the vast majority of these calls have been from people seeking to refurbish a vacant rural home, and I have found it difficult to explain to them that the scheme doesn't support the refurbishment of such homes.

"I'm at a loss to understand why the hundreds of vacant rural homes that we have across Ireland are not included in the scheme and I'm urging Minister O'Brien to reconsider the qualifying criteria of the scheme so that we can support the provision of additional housing in rural as well as urban Ireland."