Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 20 March 2018
1035. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government further to Parliamentary Question No. 37 of 27 February 2018, the amount that has been drawn down and spent; and the amount that is committed to contribution obligations of the €266 million allocated under phase 1 of the local infrastructure activation housing fund. [12252/18]
View answerThe Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund (LIHAF) is a key element Rebuilding Ireland: An Action Plan for Housing & Homelessness. The objective of the fund is to provide public off-site infrastructure to relieve critical infrastructure blockages. Funding of €200 million was originally provided under LIHAF, of which €150 million is funded by the Exchequer and local authorities fund €50 million. Further funding was made available as part of Budget 2018, bringing the total fund to €266 million and there will be a second call for proposals in 2018 in order to allocate the additional funds.
The total cost of the 34 projects which received preliminary approval under LIHAF in March 2017 was €226 million. When approving proposals, it was considered prudent to approve in excess of €200 million available at the time to allow for instances where a proposal does not proceed due to planning issues or unforeseen delays or where potential savings are secured through tendering or other efficiencies.
To date, I have given final approval for 30 of the 34 infrastructure projects under LIHAF, which will activate supply of almost 20,000 housing units on previously inactive sites, and grant agreements in respect of those projects have been signed. The cost of these projects is €195.7 million, of which €146.7 million will be funded by my Department and €49 million will be funded by local authorities. The remaining four projects are being moved for consideration under LIHAF2 later in 2018.
Funding of €1.67 million was drawn down in respect of LIHAF projects in 2017, which was mainly in respect of design costs. It is expected that this will increase substantially in 2018 as projects move to the construction stage.
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 involved. Through proactive management of the broader housing programme, the LIHAF underspend in 2017 was diverted to other housing activities, ensuring that the funding available in 2017 was fully applied to housing priorities.
