Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 17 April 2018
1610. Deputy James Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government to outline his plans to provide funding to extend the Clane ring road, County Kildare in view of the increased number of housing units being developed in the town; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16386/18]
View answerThe funding of transport infrastructure in general is a matter within the remit of my colleague, the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport. The planning, design and implementation of individual road projects on national roads are a matter for Transport Infrastructure Ireland under the Roads Acts 1993-2015 in conjunction with the relevant local authority. For regional and local roads, it is a matter for each respective local authority.
The Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund (LIHAF) is a key element of Pillar 3 of the Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing & Homelessness. The objective of the Fund is to provide public off-site infrastructure to relieve critical infrastructure blockages to enable the accelerated delivery of housing on key development sites in Dublin and in urban areas of high demand for housing. The types of infrastructure being provided can include roads, bridges, diversion of powerlines, drainage works as well as public amenities.
The first call for proposals under LIHAF was issued to all local authorities in August 2016. Kildare County Council submitted 7 proposals in respect of Naas, Kildare, Maynooth, Newbridge, Celbridge, Leixlip and Sallins. Kildare County Council received approval for the proposals at Maynooth, Naas and Sallins, which have an aggregate Exchequer allocation of €21.4 million. No proposal was received in respect of extending the Clane Ring Road at that time.
As part of Budget 2018, I announced that an additional €50 million Exchequer funding will be available for a second LIHAF call, with a further €17 million to be contributed by local authorities. I anticipate that there will be a further call for proposals under phase 2 of LIHAF shortly. It will be open to all local authorities, including Kildare County Council, to submit new projects or resubmit previous projects for consideration at that time, provided they meet the criteria for the Fund.
