Fiona O'Loughlin (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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271. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government when funding regarding the local infrastructure housing activation fund will be made available in view of the fact that south County Kildare needs funding for a new bridge in Newbridge.; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49739/18]

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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My Department established the Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund (LIHAF) to relieve critical infrastructural blockages to enable the accelerated delivery of housing on key development sites in Dublin and in other urban areas with high demand for housing. The type of infrastructure investment includes roads, bridges, diversion of powerlines, drainage works as well as public amenities (e.g. parks).

The 30 projects under the Fund will stimulate development of approximately 20,000 homes across the 14 local authorities in areas of high housing need by 2021. Details of the projects funded are available on the Rebuilding Ireland website and can be accessed at the following link:

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Since the original call under LIHAF in 2016, significantly increased funding has been made available for enabling infrastructure through three new funds: the new €2 billion Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF) and the €310 million Serviced Sites Fund, operated through my Department, and the €1 billion Rural Regeneration Development Fund (RRDF), operated by the Department of Rural and Community Development.

The URDF is designed to leverage a greater proportion of residential and commercial development, supported by infrastructure, services and amenities, within the existing built-up areas of our larger urban settlements. The first call for proposals were initiated by my Department under the URDF in July 2018 and the first round of funding approvals was announced on 26 November 2018, details of which are available at the following weblink:

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A second call for proposals under the URDF will issue in early 2019.

While a second call for proposals under LIHAF was originally planned, given the number of funding streams now available for infrastructure and in order to avoid duplication, the funding initially intended for the second LIHAF call was amalgamated into the new Serviced Site Fund (SSF) referred to above, under which relevant Local Authorities can apply for funding for key facilitating infrastructure on public lands, to support delivery of affordable homes to purchase or rent. Decisions on applications received under a first call for proposals under the SSF will be finalised shortly and a further call for proposals will issue thereafter.