Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 30 June 2026
511. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to list all EU funding streams that are available to his Department and other State agencies tasked with the delivery of social and affordable homes; and the amount of each fund drawn down in each year from 2020 to 2025, in tabular form. [49556/26]
View answerThe EU’s cohesion policy aims to strengthen economic and social cohesion by reducing disparities in the level of development between regions.
Ireland will benefit from €1.4 billion in Cohesion Policy funding between 2021-2027 to support the sustainable development of its economy.
The details and strategy for these investments are set out in the Partnership Agreement between Ireland and the Commission, available here: www.gov.ie/en/department-of-public-expenditure-infrastructure-public-service-reform-and-digitalisation/publications/partnership-agreement-2021-2027/.
In November 2025, a Northern & Western (NW) Regional Programme approved the allocation of €32m of European Regional Development Funding (ERDF) towards a new Scheme supporting Social Housing, providing competitive funding to Local Authorities for adaptive social housing projects targeting hard to reach cohorts.
In addition, a Southern, Eastern and Midland (SEM) Regional Programme amendment was formally accepted by the Commission in March 2026 to allocate €60m towards a new Scheme providing funding to Local Authorities to support Affordable Housing. The Southern Regional Assembly (SRA) is the Managing Authority in this regard.
Ireland also currently accesses significant European funding for housing through European Investment Bank (EIB loans) for social and affordable housing via the Housing Finance Agency (HFA), and specific national schemes co-funded by the EU and other EU Structural and Investment funds, such as the Town Centre First Heritage Revival Scheme via the European Regional Development Fund for urban regeneration.
Since 2007, the HFA’s €775 million partnership with the EIB has helped provide over 6,200 social and affordable homes nationwide. In October 2025, a new €400 million partnership between the EIB and the HFA was announced to support the delivery of social and affordable homes in Ireland.
Details of estimated EU receipts for my Department for the years 2020 to 2025 are set out in Appendix 2 to the Revised Estimates for Public Services (REV), which are available at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/department-of-public-expenditure-infrastructure-public-service-reform-and-digitalisation/collections/the-revised-estimates-volumes-for-the-public-service/.
The final outturn on EU funding received is set out in the annual Appropriation Account for my Department.
