Malcolm Byrne (Wicklow-Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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619. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the funding streams that may be open to construct the planned northern relief road at Gorey, County Wexford, in order to open up the St. Waleran’s area for housing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55194/25]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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The Programme for Government recognised the need to accelerate home building by unblocking infrastructure delays and coordinating investment in servicing zoned land.

I have made significant progress in establishing the Housing Activation Office, which is central to achieving this objective. Senior specialists from Uisce Éireann, ESB Networks, the National Transport Authority, Transport Infrastructure Ireland and the local government sector are now in place. In addition, senior staff from my Department are assigned to the Office.

The Office is actively engaged in identifying barriers to housing delivery and is coordinating with local authorities and infrastructure agencies to address these barriers. This includes engagement with the 31 City and County Councils over a series of meetings scheduled across September and October to gain an understanding of key housing sites and infrastructure requirements across each area.

In the coming months I will be bringing forward a new Housing Infrastructure Fund, with multi-year funding being made available. I will be providing up to €200m next year to support direct investment in critical housing infrastructure where it can be accelerated and delivered in the short term.

This new fund will operate in addition to existing investment programmes such as the Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund and the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund, which will continue to play a key role alongside the Housing Infrastructure Fund.

This joined-up approach will help accelerate housing delivery by unblocking infrastructure constraints and ensuring that investment is targeted to where it can have the greatest impact. This will help support local authorities in achieving their housing targets in line with the Revised National Planning Framework.

While I cannot comment on any individual sites in advance of the opening of the Housing Infrastructure fund, there will be close engagement with stakeholders, including local authorities, to identify priority areas for investment.