Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund

Tuesday, 16 January 2018

Questions (1808, 1827)

Barry Cowen

Question:

1808. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the drawdown of funding from the local infrastructure housing activation scheme in 2017. [1575/18]

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1827. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the amount of funding that has been drawn down to the end of 2017 under the local infrastructure housing activation fund; the funding and projects expected to be funded in 2018; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1898/18]

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Written answers

Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1808 and 1827 together.

The total cost of the 34 projects which received preliminary approval under the Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund in March 2017 was €226 million, of which 75% (€169.5 million) will be funded by my Department, with local authorities funding 25% (€56.5 million). Grant agreements have been signed in respect of 29 LIHAF projects so far and I expect to sign further grant agreements in the near future. All projects were allowed to go to design phase in advance of signing grant agreements.

Funding for LIHAF is ring-fenced within the overall housing budget and will be available for local authorities to drawdown over the lifetime of the projects. Preliminary approvals were announced last March and due to the need for necessary preparatory work such as design, planning and public procurement the projects incurred very small expenditure levels in 2017. The total expenditure on LIHAF for 2017 was €1.67 million. It is expected that construction will commence on many projects in 2018 and a substantially accelerated drawdown is likely this year.

Through proactive management of the broader housing programme, the underspend in 2017 was applied to other housing activities, ensuring that the funding available in 2017 was fully applied to housing priorities.

As part of Budget 2018, I announced an additional €50 million funding which will be available for a second LIHAF call and which will again be subject to matching funding of 25% by local authorities. This capital funding will facilitate the provision of more public infrastructure to unlock further sites and activate more housing supply. I intend issuing a further call for proposals under LIHAF early this year and it will be open to all local authorities to submit new projects or resubmit previous unsuccessful projects for consideration at that time.