Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 19 February 2026
416. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide an update on the work of the Housing Activation Office, including the number of applications for funding it has received from which local authorities and for what infrastructure; and to provide an update on the progress of each application. [13892/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI have established a Housing Activation Office (HAO) which will coordinate and accelerate the delivery of infrastructure projects that are essential to unlock housing development on sites nationwide.
The HAO includes six experts seconded from Uisce Éireann, ESB Networks, the National Transport Authority, Transport Infrastructure Ireland and the local government sector, in addition to staff from my Department with expertise in Planning, project management and administration.
Since its establishment, the HAO has undertaken informal and formal engagement with various stakeholders, including formal meetings with the 31 individual local authorities between mid-September and the end of November 2025. In total approximately eighty meetings have been held with local authorities.
I convened the new high level Housing Activation Delivery Group on 6 November 2025, bringing together senior representatives from Government Departments and infrastructure agencies, to oversee and support the work of the HAO. I also convened a new Housing Activation Industry Group on that date to provide a forum for regular engagement with industry. Both groups will meet on a quarterly basis, with the second meeting taking place on 28 January 2026.
On 21 January 2026, the Government also announced a new multiannual €1 billion Housing Infrastructure Investment Fund (HIIF) to support direct investment in housing enabling infrastructure. The fund will be managed by the Housing Activation Office in my Department. The core objective of the HIIF is to unblock infrastructure constraints and activate lands already identified for housing under development plans. By investing directly in transport, water, electricity and other enabling infrastructure, the fund will ensure that land is properly serviced and ready to deliver homes. Given the urgency of increasing housing supply, Call 1 is focused on early delivery and will prioritise investment in infrastructure projects that are at an advanced stage and can be delivered quickly given funding certainty.
Call 1 of the HIIF opened for applications from local authorities and the Land development Agency (LDA) on 21 January 2026 and will close on 27 February 2026. Funding of up to 100% will be available to advance infrastructure projects that can be delivered within the 2026-2028 timeframe, that will allow for the acceleration of housing delivery.
As the application process is currently live, no completed applications for funding have been submitted yet. Once Call 1 closes for applications on 27 February, all applications received will be subject to a detailed assessment and evaluation in accordance with the the scheme outline document and recommendations will be brought forward in accordance with the governance arrangements for the Fund.
Full details of the HIIF Call 1 scheme outline can be found on my Departments website at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/department-of-housing-local-government-and-heritage/publications/housing-infrastructure-investment-fund-call-1-scheme-outline/
I will continue to develop the Fund after Call 1, and intend to broaden the approach in 2026 to include a wider range of delivery approaches and a broader range of public and private sector delivery partners.
