Written Answers Nos. 503-514
503. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide a list of all national planning policy statements currently being prepared by his Department, in tabular form. [73476/25]
View answerThe commencement of provisions within Part 3 of the Planning and Development Act 2024 on 2 October 2025 provides the statutory basis for the issuing of National Planning Statements. Under the provisions of the Act of 2024 the Minster may, at any time and with the approval of Government, issue a National Planning Statement in relation to planning matters to support proper planning and sustainable development.
National Planning Statements will replace Ministerial guidelines issued under section 28 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 (as amended). Existing Ministerial Guidelines issued under Section 28 of the Act of 2000 will, over time, be revoked and replaced with National Planning Statements. Section 27 (1) of the Act of 2024 states that, notwithstanding the repeal of Section 28 of the Act of 2000, guidelines issued under that section that were in force immediately before the repeal of that section, shall continue in force until revoked or replaced by a National Planning Statement.
The sequence and timing of replacing existing guidelines with National Planning Statements will be decided based on Government priorities.
The delivery of housing is a top priority for Government. The Government’s new housing action plan Delivering Homes, Building Communities supports the delivery of the revised National Planning Framework housing projections which set out the need to plan for the delivery of approximately 50,000 additional homes per annum to 2040. In order to provide much needed certainty to support housing delivery, and strictly without prejudice to current legal proceedings relating to the 'Planning Design Standards for Apartments Guidelines for Planning Authorities', issued in July 2025, a draft National Planning Statement relating to apartment standards is being prepared.
The Housing Action Plan also commits to the preparation of National Planning Statements with regard to short-term letting, rural housing and housing within Gaeltacht areas. In addition, the recently-published Accelerating Infrastructure Taskforce Report and Plan commits to the preparation of a National Planning Statement relating to critical infrastructure.
504. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the key measures taken to expand social housing provision during 2025; his priorities for 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [73534/25]
View answerSince the beginning of 2022, Government has supported the delivery of 35,163 new social homes across thousands of individual projects funded through build, acquisition and leasing programmes.
Building on progress made to date the new Housing Plan, Delivering Homes, Building Communities aims to deliver 300,000 new homes in the period to 2030, including 72,000 social homes and 90,000 starter home supports. The Plan seeks to significantly scale-up delivery of new build social homes over the coming years, increasing from an average of 8,000 or so homes a year at present to an average of 12,000 per year.
In 2025, Government has allocated almost €7.5 billion in capital investment for Housing, inclusive of Land Development Agency investment and Housing Finance Agency (HFA) lending. The 2025 capital funding is supplemented by €1.93 billion in current funding to address housing needs.
This record level of investment for the delivery of housing will continue in 2026 with €5.2bn in Exchequer capital funding complemented by investment through the Land Development Agency (LDA) and lending from the Housing Finance Agency (HFA), bringing the total capital funding for housing in 2026 to over €9 billion.
The Government remains committed to increasing social housing delivery and a key focus of the social housing programme is to increase the number of new-build homes.
To incentivise local authorities to deliver more ‘own build’ projects, a new performance fund will be established. Where a local authority exceeds their ‘own build’ target they will receive additional discretionary funding for the delivery of community and placemaking initiatives and projects. In addition, ring-fenced 'new-build' housing delivery teams in each local authority dedicated to own build new social and affordable housing delivery will be fully funded by my Department through reimbursement to local authorities on a performance pay basis.
Delivering Homes, Building Communities will further support additional social housing delivery by mandating the use of standard house layouts and specifications as part of the new approval process and facilitate the use of Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) through a standardised design approach. To further promote the delivery of social housing I will embed the use of a Design and Build contract approach in all local authorities and the AHB sector in order to expedite the delivery of social housing.
Additionally, the new ‘single approval’ process for all new build social housing projects up to a value of €200m will support local authorities to streamline processes and encourage delivery of larger new build social housing developments.
Furthermore, the Land Acquisition Fund will be reformed, streamlined and expanded to ensure it is fit for purpose and can support the level of ambition in the Plan. To this end, the fund will also be increased from the current €239m to at least €500m.
The newly established Housing Activation Office (HAO) will identify and seek to address barriers to the delivery of public infrastructure projects required to enable housing development, through the alignment of funding; and co-ordination of infrastructure providers.
In addition to these measures, Government will establish a revamped contractor-led renewal programme focused on tackling dereliction and vacancy.
In 2025, my Department has provided €375 million to support a second-hand acquisitions programme. The programme supports priority categories of need, including exits from homeless services, tenancy sustainment (tenant in situ), people with a disability and older persons requiring urgent housing responses, and Buy and Renew acquisitions tackling vacancy. €50 million of this funding was ring fenced to target acquisitions that support households, primarily larger families with children, to exit long-term emergency accommodation arrangements.
I expect the 2026 programme to maintain support for the priority categories and individual local authority allocations, will be agreed and notified to local authorities early next year.
My Department publishes comprehensive programme-level statistics on a quarterly basis on social and affordable housing delivery activity by local authorities and Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) in each local authority. This data is available to the end of Q2 2025 and is published on the statistics page of my Department’s website (www.gov.ie/en/collection/6060e-overall-social-housing-provision/).
These figures show that from the beginning of 2020 to the end of Q2 2025, over 35,000 new homes have been delivered under social housing build programmes.
In the first six months of 2025, 1,804 new build social homes were delivered. This is an increase of almost 54% on the same period in 2024 (1,174).
The latest Construction Status Report shows that the social housing pipeline is strong and continues to grow with 11,557 social homes currently onsite with an additional 15,127 homes at design and tender stage. In Quarter 2 2025, 141 new construction schemes (2,478 homes) were added to the pipeline. The most recent publication was for Quarter 2 2025. All CSRs are available at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/collection/cb885-social-housing-construction-projects-status-reports/
505. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the key measures taken to expand affordable housing provision during 2025; his priorities for 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [73535/25]
View answer510. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the key measures taken to support first time buyers during 2025; his priorities for 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [73540/25]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 505 and 510 together.
The Government’s new housing plan, Delivering Homes, Building Communities 2025-2030, sets out a broad range of measures that will accelerate new homes delivery and provide affordable housing supports, thereby assisting first time buyers and renters all over the country. The new plan prioritises deliverability, removing structural barriers to homebuilding by unlocking land, reforming planning, delivering infrastructure and creating conditions for investment.
A key component of this plan, the new Starter Homes Programme, will deliver an average of 15,000 affordable housing supports annually to 2030, while at the same time having a keen focus on vacancy and dereliction. The Plan supports homeownership and secure rental —while revitalising villages, towns and cities.
In particular, the plan provides for an expanded remit for the Land Development Agency, extends the First Home and Help to Buy Schemes to 2030 and expands the local authority delivered starter homes for purchase programme, which will see an increase in affordable homes for purchase nationwide. It also creates a new support for those creating Living over the Shop homes.
Since 2021, Government has introduced several schemes to help first time home seekers to buy or rent homes, with close to 16,900 affordable housing supports having been provided via these measures, nationwide.
My Department proactively engages with the housing delivery partners, on a regular basis, to monitor and support their delivery of affordable housing. Scheme criteria and support levels for affordable purchase schemes are kept under regular review, taking account of developments in the housing market. I will continue engaging with all delivery partners, to ensure that the Starter Homes Programme delivers a strong pipeline of affordable housing supports, over the lifetime of the plan.
506. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the key measures taken to tackle homelessness during 2025; his priorities for 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [73536/25]
View answerSupporting individuals and families experiencing or at risk of experiencing homelessness is a priority for my Department and Government.
Throughout 2025, my Department has worked closely with local authorities and NGO partners with a particular focus on preventing and exiting households from emergency accommodation. Up until end of Q3 2025, a total of 2,827 adults were prevented from entering emergency accommodation through the creation of a secure tenancy and a total of 2,363 adults were supported to exit emergency accommodation to a secure tenancy.
Our new housing plan, ‘Delivering Homes, Building Communities: An Action Plan on Housing Supply and Targeting Homelessness’ was published in November 2025 and is an integrated housing and homelessness plan. The new plan is based on two key pillars: activating the supply of 300,000 more homes; and supporting people to have a home of their own.
Increased supply is key to addressing homelessness. Government is focused on making sure that everyone has access to good quality, affordable and secure homes that suit their needs. Over €9 billion in capital funding will be made available for housing in 2026.
Our new Plan recognises that homelessness is the single most pressing social issue that we face and introduces a number of key measures to address homelessness. Ensuring the implementation of these measures will be a priority for me in 2026.
Prevention of homelessness in the first instance is essential. There are many preventions initiatives already underway in my own Department and across Government. This includes the provision of social and affordable housing, HAP and homeless HAP, and our strong tenancy protection legislation. In order to ensure a fully aligned all-of-Government approach under the Plan, we are committing to develop a national Homelessness Prevention Framework within which homelessness can be prevented in a structured and planned way with tailored prevention measures for each potential at risk cohort. This Framework will be in place in 2026.
Addressing family homelessness is a key priority for Government. Our new housing plan commits to the development of a Child and Family Homelessness Action Plan. This will bring together key stakeholders to drive the continued focus on preventing children and families entering emergency accommodation, providing enhanced supports for children experiencing homelessness, as well as measures to accelerate exits and reduce the time spent by children and their families in homeless emergency accommodation.
The Plan also provides dedicated capital funding of €100 million which will be ring-fenced to support local authorities to acquire properties to tackle long-term homelessness. It will be used specifically to acquire suitable units to exit families the longest in emergency accommodation and for Housing First, units for individuals with complex needs experiencing homelessness.
Housing First is a key policy response in our efforts to reduce homelessness amongst our most vulnerable individuals. A key initiative under this Plan will be the further expansion of the Housing First programme to create 2,000 tenancies. An updated implementation plan will specify targets for each local authority for Housing First tenancies in the coming months.
The Plan also recognises that individuals experiencing homelessness with complex supports needs often become entrenched in emergency homeless services. Under the Plan, the Department of Health will provide increased health support to households experiencing homelessness through the implementation of the HSE National Strategic Plan to Improve the Health of People Experiencing Homelessness.
Budget 2026 provides a total allocation of €563.5m to address homelessness. This includes €513.5m in current funding to ensure local authorities can provide sufficient emergency accommodation as well as essential related services including Housing First supports, homelessness prevention supports, day services, and tenancy sustainment measures. Additionally, €50 million in capital funding will allow local authorities to invest in the provision of local authority or NGO owned emergency accommodation facilities, developing a more sustainable approach to the delivery of emergency accommodation and ensuring that services are tailored for the needs of clients.
507. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the key measures taken to tackle vacancy and dereliction during 2025; his priorities for 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [73537/25]
View answerWorking to end dereliction and vacancy is a key priority in the Government's new housing plan, Delivering Homes, Building Communities. The Plan will ensure that the activities and resources used to address vacancy and dereliction are co-ordinated, and that legislative powers are used proactively to work to bring dereliction and vacancy to an end.
The range of initiatives and funding mechanisms introduced in recent years are set out in the Vacant Homes Action Plan and they are successfully reducing the levels of vacancy and dereliction right across the country.
A key measure is the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant, introduced in July 2022. The grant provides up to €70,000 for the refurbishment of vacant and derelict properties for occupation as a principal private residence and for properties which will be made available for rent. There has been significant interest in the grant since its launch, with over 15,600 applications made to local authorities to date and over €230 million of grant funding paid out across the country.
This week I announced a new enhanced support package of up to €140,000 to bring vacant ‘above shop’ space in our cities, towns and villages into use as homes, which will be made available in Q1 next year.
This year, my Department has been engaging with the national statistical institute, the Central Statistics Office, which has recently developed a new statistical release on residential vacancy. The release, published in September, provides information on the extent of residential vacancy in 2022 and 2023, using ESB data on residential electricity consumption, with future regular publications planned. In the release, the CSO note a national vacancy rate of 3.3% at the end of 2023, down from 3.6% at the end of 2022. Local authority and local electoral level breakdowns are also included.
The CPO Activation Programme, launched in 2023, requires local authorities to take a proactive, systematic approach to identifying and activating vacant and derelict properties. It includes use of their compulsory purchase powers under the Derelict Sites Act and the Housing Act, when engagement with the owners of these properties is not successful in bringing them back into use.
In October, my Department published data for 2023 and 2024 on the CPO Activation Programme on its website, which includes the number of properties that entered the Programme, the number of compulsory purchase/acquisitions commenced and the number of compulsory purchase/acquisitions completed per local authority. This data can be accessed at the following link: assets.gov.ie/static/documents/bdfef028/CPO_Activation_Programme_-_LA_use_of_CPO_powers.pdf
Call 3 of the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF), as well as Social Housing Investment Programme funding, is able to provide the finance required to compulsorily acquire properties in support of the local authority’s wider CPO Activation Programme targets. To date, over 1,370 properties have now been approved for local authority's URDF Call 3 programmes, with an estimated residential yield of over 5,600 homes.
Delivering Homes, Building Communities reinforces and expands the range of measures being implemented by Government to work to end dereliction and long term vacancy.
As well as the new Above the Shop Grant and other measures, a new Derelict Property Tax will be introduced, to be administered and collected by the Revenue Commissioners, to bring derelict properties back into use.
Under the Living City Initiative, a tax incentive scheme to encourage people to live in ‘special regeneration areas’, tax relief can be claimed for money spent on refurbishing or converting residential or commercial buildings. The aim of the initiative is to bring back life into the heart of the relevant cities and towns by encouraging people to convert suitable properties. Budget 2026 extended the Living City Initiative to 2030, and expanded it to include residential properties built before 1975 and the towns of Athlone, Drogheda, Dundalk, Letterkenny and Sligo.
I firmly believe the commitment Government has made to addressing vacancy and dereliction and the actions under Delivering Homes, Building Communities will play a vital role in delivering homes across the country.
508. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the key measures taken to expand cost rental during 2025; his priorities for 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [73538/25]
View answerAffordability and the chance to own a home is at the heart of Government’s housing policy, as embodied within the new housing plan, Delivering Homes, Building Communities 2025 – 2030. The plan reinforces and expands the range of existing measures being implemented by Government to tackle the issues of supply and affordability, thereby supporting the increased provision of new homes to purchase and rent.
Cost Rental is a key element of the Government's strategy to improve affordability in the rental sector and to provide secure, long-term homes for moderate-income households above the income limits for social housing. The core principle is that rents cover the development, management, and maintenance costs of the homes, so that their long-term future is secure, without rents being subject to the pressures of the open market.
As rents depend on actual delivery costs, various Cost Rental homes will have different degrees of affordability for the range of potential applicants. My Department is supporting the delivery of homes at a range of cost and rent levels, depending on factors like location and the size or type of home, and affordability is always a key consideration. By providing significant capital funding, my Department helps to drive down the rents that must be paid by tenants. This funding comes as low-cost loans, capital grants, and State investment. All supported Cost Rental projects must achieve starting rents that are at least 25% (and often significantly more) below comparable local market levels.
The 2025 Programme for Government includes a commitment to target Cost Rental homes at key local workers, and my Department is working to explore all options for achieving this.
In the meantime, we are working to implement certain changes which were made to Part 3 of the Affordable Housing Act 2021 late last year. The Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2024 included new provisions related to the Cost Rental sector which are likely to improve access for certain cohorts.
On 2 July this year I made the Affordable Housing Act 2021 (Cost Rental Allocation Plan) Regulations 2025. These Regulations allow for Cost Rental landlords to employ Allocation Plans which may prioritise particular homes for those with a link to an area though residence, employment, or children’s education. This will support people to live and work in their local area.
The Programme for Government also includes a commitment to introduce a cost rental version of the Repair and Lease scheme on a pilot basis. This is aimed both at tackling vacancy and dereliction and providing affordable housing. The new housing plan contains a commitment to develop a pathfinder project for an affordable rental version of the repair and lease scheme and my Department is working with Local Authorities to develop a viable scheme to achieve these aims.
My Department continues to review the operation of the Cost Rental housing tenure.
509. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the key measures taken to support apartment building during 2025; his priorities for 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [73539/25]
View answerGovernment is acutely aware of the viability gap which has emerged between the cost of delivering apartment developments and their market price and has taken a range of measures to incentivise development in this critically important area.
Measures taken in 2025 include: enabling the extension of un-commenced residential planning permissions nearing the end of their duration; rental regulation reforms including measures to boost investment in new apartments; a fourth call for the Croí Cónaithe Cities scheme which aims to bridge the viability gap for new apartments for sale; new apartment guidelines with greater flexibility vis-à-vis the size and mix of apartments; Budget 2026 taxation measures aimed at stimulating the supply of new apartments including a reduced VAT rate on the sale of new apartments and an enhanced Corporation Tax deduction for apartment construction costs.
Taken together, these measures have the potential to result in significant savings in the range of €88,000 to €160,000 per unit for new apartment developments.
The focus for 2026 will be on the implementation of these measures and closely monitoring apartment investment, planning and commencement activity to inform ongoing policy consideration.
511. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the key measures taken to enhance water services during 2025; his priorities for 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [73541/25]
View answerWater services play an essential role - in enabling economic growth, social inclusion, environmental sustainability and the delivery of our housing need.
Securing safe and reliable water supply is a top priority for the Government, as is securing water to facilitate the development at pace and at scale of homes in all parts of the country.
Both our water and wastewater systems require substantial and sustained investment over a number of investment cycles to bring the systems up to the quality and resilience standards required of a modern service; to provide for population growth and to build resilience in the face of climate change.
This Government is delivering a sustainable funding path to further enhance the ongoing significant improvements in our public water and wastewater services.
In the last 10 years there been record levels of investment in water infrastructure. Uisce Éireann has ramped up capital delivery capability for water services and infrastructure from €300m in 2014 to roughly €1.3 billion in 2024.
In 2025, €1,704m was allocated to Uisce Éireann as part of its voted funding, consisting of €720m current and €983m capital funding. In addition, as part of budget 2025, a €1 billion capital investment was announced by the Minister for Finance, of which Uisce Éireann received €514m as the first instalment in 2025. Further allocations from this €1 billion will be made in the coming years.
The Government’s support for improving our water infrastructure continues to grow along with the continued development of water services in Ireland that are reflective of best international practice.
Building on major reforms over the last decade, public water services will continue to be delivered to the majority of the population by Uisce Éireann, the national authority for water services.
There will also be continued support provided to those communities and individuals not served by public water services and who provide water services for themselves along with investment to restore and improve water quality in rivers, lakes and coastal waters.
The Sectoral Plan for Water Services and Water Quality published in November will form a crucial part of the Government’s implementation of the National Development Plan.
The delivery of essential infrastructure is a key driver in ensuring our economy’s competitiveness and resilience, and water is a key part of this infrastructure.
Over the next five years record funding of €12.2 billion will be allocated to the water sector, and 95% of this will be allocated to Uisce Éireann. This investment in our national water utility will support the delivery of a wide range of projects in our cities and regions required for public health and safeguarding the environment, and the delivery of the additional water services capacity required for the new housing targets. This Government is delivering a sustainable funding path to further enhance the ongoing significant improvements in our public water and wastewater services.
The revised NDP represents the largest ever capital investment plan in the history of water services and water quality and will support the upgrading of our water and wastewater infrastructure to enable social inclusion, environmental sustainability and housing delivery.
512. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the key measures taken to support rightsizing during 2025; his priorities for 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [73542/25]
View answerGovernment is committed to increasing housing choices available to older people to facilitate ageing in place with dignity and independence and to support rightsizing on a voluntary basis. The Government’s new housing plan, Delivering Homes, Building Communities 2025-2030, includes measures which will increase delivery of housing for older people through increased delivery of social housing, increased delivery of more suitable homes in private housing and increased choice to support voluntary rightsizing.
The new housing plan will increase choice for older people to voluntarily rightsize through advancing consideration of the availability of bridging finance to support rightsizing, a review of the operation of existing local authority financial contribution schemes and supporting social housing tenants who wish to rightsize to more suitable accommodation.
My Department is advancing these measures now incorporated in the new housing plan, Delivering Homes, Building Communities 2025-2030.
513. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the key measures taken to boost overall housing supply during 2025; his priorities for 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [73543/25]
View answerThe Government is focused on increasing the national housing stock and ensuring a suitable range of housing is available to all. Activating housing supply is multifaceted, requiring a concerted effort across a number of policy areas and a range of measures were taken in 2025 to boost overall housing supply.
The Planning and Development Act 2024 represents the most comprehensive review of planning since 2000 and a detailed plan for the implementation of the Act was published in March 2025. The first phase of commencements has provided for the establishment of An Coimisiún Pleanála and introduced provisions for reformed planning judicial review. New tools such as Urban Development Zones and Urban and Priority Area Plans will support faster, more responsive delivery of housing and infrastructure, where it is needed most.
The Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2025 was approved, published and enacted before the summer recess to deal with expiring planning permissions and to encourage activation of housing, while the new Housing Activation Office will work to address barriers to the delivery of infrastructure projects needed to enable housing development.
The revised National Planning Framework (NPF) approved in April is a major step forward, and will help increase capacity and accelerate home building across the country. In July, I issued Guidelines instructing local authorities to update housing targets in line with the revised NPF. The new Guidelines set out the need to plan for approximately 55,000 additional households per annum on average to 2040, enabling zoning for a total of 83,000 units per annum.
In June, Government also agreed to amend the rent pressure zone framework, which will help stimulate increased development of apartments over the longer-term.
A fourth call for expressions of interest under the Croí Cónaithe Cities scheme was issued over the summer with submitted schemes now currently being assessed. The scheme will help activate the thousands of planning permissions for apartments in our cities. Furthermore, an enhanced Land Development Agency is working to deliver more private housing as well as social, affordable and cost rental homes.
The delivery of housing is at the centre of the updated National Development Plan, published in July, which provides for unprecedented levels of investment for housing and water infrastructure with overall investment of €40.5bn provided for housing and related water services to 2030. Furthermore, a record level of investment is being provided for the delivery of housing in 2026 with overall capital funding of over €9 billion announced in Budget 2026.
Government also announced in Budget 2026 reduced VAT on sale of apartments from 13.5% to 9%, Enhanced Corporation Tax Deductions on Construction Expenses to improve the viability of apartment building, and a Corporation Tax Exemption for Cost Rental Income to encourage delivery and increase viability of cost rental units.
The Government’s new plan Delivering Homes, Building Communities was published on 13 November 2025. The implementation of the actions set out in the plan, will see the delivery of 300,000 new homes over its lifetime, including 72,000 social homes, and provide 90,000 affordable supports to help people who are struggling to have a home of their own.
Pillar 1 of the new plan focuses on activating the supply of 300,000 homes. This will be achieved through a range of actions aimed at activating more land, providing more housing-related infrastructure, securing more development finance for home building, addressing viability challenges, particularly in apartment delivery, increasing the adoption of Modern Methods of Construction, improving labour skills in the residential construction sector, and working towards ending dereliction and vacancy.
These actions will be progressed in 2026 and further information is available at the following link:
www.gov.ie/en/department-of-housing-local-government-and-heritage/publications/enabling-more-housing/#activating-supply
514. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage for a report on the work of the Housing Activation Office during 2025; his priorities for 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [73544/25]
View answerThe Government, on 29 April 2025, agreed to establish the Housing Activation Office (HAO) within my Department to address the critical need to accelerate housing delivery by coordinating and progressing the key enabling infrastructure required for development.
I have now established this Office and its function is to coordinate and accelerate the delivery of infrastructure projects that are essential to unlock housing sites. The HAO includes experts seconded from Uisce Éireann, ESB Networks, the National Transport Authority, Transport Infrastructure Ireland and the local government sector, who will support the work of the office.
Since its establishment, the HAO has been actively engaging with all local authorities and relevant infrastructure agencies to identify and address barriers to housing delivery.
I will shortly be bringing forward a €1 billion Housing Infrastructure Investment Fund, which will provide targeted investment in enabling infrastructure. This new fund will complement existing investment by Uisce Éireann, ESB Networks and other agencies and will form part of a more coordinated, end-to-end approach to infrastructure delivery for housing. It will also operate alongside existing programmes such as the Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund and the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund.
The Office is currently working with local authorities to identify infrastructure projects needed to unlock key housing sites. This work is ongoing and the Office will prepare reports for the Minister in due course as to the information gathered.
