The purpose of the Building Blocks – Improvement Grant is to improve the energy efficiency

standards of facilities and to support the continuous improvement of the physical environment in

services. The programme supports the Government’s ambitions as laid out in the National

Development Plan.

The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY) has allocated a

budget of €10m for the Building Blocks – Improvement Grant, split between two strands. A

minimum of €35,000 and a maximum of €75,000 will be awarded.

• Strand A – Green/Energy: For costs associated with improving the energy efficiency of a building.
• Strand B – Retrofit: For costs associated with retrofit and accessibility of an existing building.

Services may apply for either Strand A or Strand B. The application form will open and close on the

same dates for Strand A and Strand B.

Successful applicants will be required to complete their projects before 31st December 2023.

Grantees will receive 90% of their approved funding on completion of the contracting process which

includes agreeing to their Grant Agreement. Once the project is completed, and 100% of funding is

spent, the service should submit their financial return, including documentary evidence and proof of

work undertaken (i.e. bank statements) to Pobal.

Upon receipt and review of the financial return the service will be reimbursed the balance of funding

spent on their project costs. If on submission of your financial return you did not spend 100% of the

grant award, the unspent balance will be decommitted, with underspend being recouped from the

final payment due. We recommend service providers submit their financial returns once the project

is completed or by 30th November 2023, which ever is sooner.

Applicants can commence where applicable, seeking planning permission, obtaining professional

advice and e-tendering from the date of the first notification of the programme. Professional fees

will only be reimbursed for successful applications and to a maximum of 10% of the capital costs

awarded. Maximum overall costs awarded (capital costs + professional fees) will not exceed

€75,000.

The Application Guidelines can be found here Application Guidelines for Building Blocks – Improvement Grant 0710