Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As announced in budget 2018, my colleague, the Minister for Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Donohoe, intends to establish Home Building Finance Ireland, HBFI, to provide funding on market terms to viable residential development projects whose owners are experiencing difficulty in obtaining debt funding.

Officials from my Department have met with Department of Finance officials on the matter and will continue to engage with them as the enabling legislation is developed. I understand that the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, will bring forward the relevant legislation to the Oireachtas in early 2018, with a view to commencing operations later next year.

With a proposed allocation of up to €750 million, it is estimated that HBFI could have capacity to fund the construction of around 6,000 new homes in the coming years. I welcome the addition of this new instrument that will further support the delivery of projects to supply much-needed new homes. The measure will bolster the strong supply-side measures introduced to date under Rebuilding Ireland which are beginning to have a positive impact.

In its role as a commercial lender, HBFI will not have any remit in designing the housing mix contained in the schemes which it funds. However, developments funded by HBFI will be subject to the same planning and regulatory requirements as all other developments, including the delivery of social housing under Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2000.

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