Denise Mitchell (Dublin Bay North, Sinn Fein)
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122. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government further to his commitment at a recent visit to fund a number of infrastructure projects in Ballymun, if he will provide details of the projects; when an announcement on the projects will be made; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9069/17]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, I attended a meeting with the Ballymun 4 Business (B4B) network on 24 November 2016, in Ballymun, and took part in an informal round table discussion where matters pertaining to housing, tenure, infrastructure and economic development were discussed. This included a discussion regarding the Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund and the City Council’s submission for the Ballymun area.

At the meeting, I clearly outlined that the aim of the Local Infrastructure Housing Activation 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 €200 m Fund comprises an Exchequer allocation of €150 million, matched by a €50 million contribution from participating local authorities.

Twenty-one local authorities have submitted a total of 74 project applications relating to specific sites or development land areas. A proposal has been submitted by Dublin City Council in relation to the provision of road infrastructure in Ballymun.

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 before the end of March.