Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 2 October 2018
633. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the status of local infrastucture housing activation fund, LIHAF, contracts in circumstances in which the land and planning permission are being sold to a third party that was not party to the original LIHAF contract with the local authority. [39762/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe aim of the Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund is to relieve critical infrastructural blockages to enable the accelerated delivery of housing on key development sites and to improve the economic viability of new housing projects in Dublin and in other urban areas with high demand for housing.
Thirty public infrastructure projects have been approved across 14 local authorities. Grant agreements have been signed by my Department with those local authorities in respect of the Exchequer funding element which is 75% of the project costs (capped at the grant amount), with the local authorities providing matching funding of 25%. The local authorities will build the infrastructure themselves using appropriate public procurement processes. In that regard, local authorities must provide evidence that they have acquired the land necessary for the construction of the infrastructure prior to engaging a contractor for the construction phase of the project where the majority of costs are incurred.
In advancing projects, local authorities have entered into local agreements with relevant landowners in respect of land for the infrastructure that will be constructed and in respect of delivery of housing by the developers in a particular timeframe, and in any event before 2021.
Where in the course of the project, the land relevant to the project changes hands, the local authority must ensure that their local agreement is assigned to the purchaser. This has already occurred in respect of one project and no issues arose with the assignment of the local agreement between the local authority and the new owner.
The LIHAF grant agreement entered into with local authorities provides for the possibility of termination of grant funding, if the local authority is unable to proceed with the project or to meet the grant conditions. My Department will monitor any changes in local agreements to ensure that the delivery targets remain unaffected and the local agreement obligations are successfully transferred where such a scenario arises.
