Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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246. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government his plans to create a link road between a sports centre (details supplied) and the Garrycastle area which would open up a massive land bank for the purpose of housing; and if there are no plans, if he will investigate this matter. [2749/17]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I presume the Deputy is referring to proposals submitted by local authorities under the Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund. The aim of this Fund is to relieve critical infrastructural blockages to enable the accelerated delivery of housing on key development sites and to improve the economic viability of new housing projects in Dublin and in urban areas with high demand for housing. The €200m Fund will be composed of an Exchequer allocation of €150 million, matched by a €50 million contribution from participating local authorities.

A Call for Proposals under the Fund was issued to local authorities on 26 August 2016, with a closing date for receipt of proposals of 14 October. It was open to all local authorities to apply, with funding to be allocated on the basis of a competitive bid process. Twenty-one local authorities have submitted a total of 74 project applications relating to specific sites or development land areas. Westmeath County Council submitted a proposal in relation to Brawny, Athlone which includes the link road between the sports centre and the Garrycastle area.

The overall total cost of the 74 funding bid applications is approximately €800m, with funding of some €600 million being sought from the Exchequer and local authorities agreeing to fund approximately €200 million as part of their matching fund requirements. It will not be possible to approve all applications, given the scale and value of applications received.

The viability of the applications is currently being examined in detail against the assessment criteria set out in the Call for Proposals, with a focus on the level of funding required and what it might leverage, the number of housing units that could be delivered, their strategic location and speed of delivery, and affordability levels of a proportion of the homes. Following completion of this analysis, I intend to announce successful applications during the first quarter of this year.