Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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223. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government to provide copies of all circulars that have been sent to local authorities in relation to the local infrastructure housing activation fund funding; the affordability requirements for homes built on the land in receipt of this funding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26006/22]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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The objective of the Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund (LIHAF) is to provide public off-site infrastructure to relieve critical infrastructure blockages. This enables the accelerated delivery of housing on key development sites in Dublin and in urban areas of high demand. LIHAF is designed to specifically address the issue of housing supply, a crucial factor in terms of moderating house prices.

Public infrastructure, such as access roads and public services to site boundaries in order to facilitate housing development, is normally paid for by local authorities from revenues received from local development contributions. These costs are in turn passed on by the developer to the purchaser in the sale price of the house. 

The types of infrastructure being provided include roads, bridges, diversion of power-lines, drainage works as well as public amenities (parks) and LIHAF schemes include access roads, distributor roads, link roads, road improvements, roundabouts, bridges and parks. 

LIHAF is not primarily intended as an affordable housing scheme, although it will enable the development of more affordable housing on sites. However, affordable housing is also needed within the overall increased supply, so we have leveraged the LIHAF funding to make housing more affordable. This does not mean that all housing will be available at very low prices. It means that a cost reduction proportionate to the benefit accruing from the State investment and the acceleration of the infrastructure has been sought and this, coupled with the effect of additional supply on prices generally, will result in tangible benefits to the average house buyer.

I will arrange for copies of the Circulars that have been issued by my department to Local Authorities in respect of the LIHAF scheme to be forwarded to the Deputy separately.