Anthony Lawlor (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is terribly difficult to swim against the tide. I understand that. I refer to some of the schemes that I have examined. The Minister mentioned that the Land Development Agency, LDA, which has been allocated €1.25 billion, had its first board meeting last week. When is it hoped to see some sort of progress with at least seeing planning applications coming forward from the LDA in respect of the land that it has? The Home Building Finance Ireland scheme is excellent. It gives an opportunity to people who cannot get loans from major institutions. The allocation in County Kildare has been used up. I understand the Minister has applied to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to see if he can get extra funding.

If there are funds available around the country, could the Minister move them around and perhaps give Kildare some additional funds? The local infrastructure housing activation fund, LIHAF, scheme, brought in under the former Minister, Deputy Coveney, has been continued. How long does the Minister believe local authorities can have before they have to spend the money? That worries me. A couple of schemes in Kildare were allocated funding under this scheme and that money has been allocated for some years now. I am concerned there may be a time limit and the projects may not go ahead. One of them happens to be for the development of recreational grounds in Sallins. That is an excellent project because it caters for all sports within the community, including GAA, soccer, etc.

I mentioned the Rebuilding Ireland home loans. The Minister has so many schemes it is difficult to keep up to date with them all. I want to ask a question on the Home Building Ireland Finance scheme, which has had €750 million allocated. How soon can applications be processed? We all know there are many small builders out there who are still burned from the crash and would love to get going on small sites around the country. The big developers are building on the big sites and under the big schemes but there is also a need for the smaller schemes. Will the Minster give us an update on that scheme?

I referred to the Rebuilding Ireland home loan scheme already under a different name. We are bringing forward something else. What is it called? My head is gone. It is on the day we have the local elections. I refer to a referendum-----