David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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311. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the amount per project made available and drawn down under the local infrastructure housing fund to date; the number of residences projected per project; the number of affordable residences per project to be provided; the number of residences finalised by project to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33170/21]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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The Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund (LIHAF) was designed to support housing supply by relieving critical infrastructure blockages. 30 projects were approved with an overall budget of €195.7m, €146.8m Exchequer funded and the remainder funded by local authorities. Details of the approvals by local authority area, budget allocation, project description and projected housing delivery are available at www.rebuildingireland.ie/LIHAF.

Of the 30 projects, 2 projects will not proceed. Kildare County Council has confirmed that the Naas Inner Relief Road will not progress and Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council has confirmed that the Clay Farm project will now not proceed. One further project, Clonburris in South Dublin County Council, will not avail of LIHAF funding but will proceed in conjunction with funding from the Urban Renewal Development Fund.

Currently, 7 LIHAF projects have completed infrastructure construction. Of the remaining 20, as of 22 June (and excluding the Naas, Clay Farm and Clonburris projects), 10 projects have been approved to go to, or are already at, infrastructure construction stage. Of the remaining 10 projects, one is expected to have a tender approved and go to construction in Q3 2021.

Nine are not yet ready to go to infrastructure tender stage which is required in order to receive approval to proceed to construction. Of these nine, six are advancing through the detailed design and planning stage and the remaining three projects are currently under review. My Department while reviewing these projects will consider requests from local authorities for extensions to the funding agreements as and when they arise.

In terms of homes delivered, the table below details the number of completed homes up to Q4 2020, some figures are still being finalised. Figures in respect of 2021 delivery are currently being collated by Local Authorities.

In terms of the LIHAF funding drawdown, thus far, most infrastructure projects have been at the design, planning and procurement stages, and the bulk of expenditure will arise during the construction phase. This is reflected in the level of expenditure to date, with approximately €65.946m in Exchequer funds drawn down (matched by a further 25% local authority funding) bringing the total expenditure to approximately €87.928m. Whilst drawdown to date has been in-line with expectations and budget profiling, at this time it is not fully apparent what impact the extended closure of the construction sector due to the Level 5 public health restrictions will have on LIHAF funding claims in 2021. The table below details the exchequer funding drawn down up to 22 June 2021.