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Only 8% of an almost \u20ac200 million Government housing fund has been spent three years after it was launched, new figures have revealed.<\/p>\nOnly 8% of an almost \u20ac200 million Government housing fund has been spent three years after it was launched, new figures have revealed.<\/p>\n
So far just over \u20ac16 million of the \u20ac195 million allocated to the Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund (LIHAF) has been drawn down since it was announced in 2016.<\/p>\n
The fund, which provides investment in public off-site infrastructure such as roads and water to prepare sites for construction, forms a core part of the Government\u2019s Rebuilding Ireland policy to tackle housing and homelessness.<\/p>\n
30 major public infrastructure projects received final approval under the fund, to facilitate the delivery of almost 20,000 new homes across public and private sites by 2021.<\/p>\n
But to date 814 homes have been built, according to new Department of Housing data.<\/p>\n
The low draw down of the fund was outlined by Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy to Fianna Fail\u2019s housing spokesman Darragh O\u2019Brien, in response to a parliamentary question.<\/p>\n
Clearly the red tape surrounding the scheme is clogging up draw downs<\/p>\n
Mr O\u2019Brien described the rate of spending by the LIHAF as \u201cshockingly low\u201d and said it was compounding the housing crisis.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has delivered just 814 homes out of 19,979 after three years,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fund has spent just \u20ac16 million out of the \u20ac200 million earmarked for investment, 8% of what was promised.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe major time lag between Government promises and delivery is compounding the housing crisis across the country.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fine Gael launched its Rebuilding Ireland program in July 2016.<\/p>\n
\u201cLIHAF was a flagship policy to deliver affordable homes but it seems to be sinking under the weight of delays,\u201d the Dublin Fingal TD claimed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe three-year time lag raises serious questions around the effectiveness of the fund and its operation.<\/p>\n
\u201cClearly the red tape surrounding the scheme is clogging up draw downs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr O\u2019Brien called for the fund to be reviewed to ensure it is fit-for-purpose and its draw down \u201cspeeded up to help get bricks and mortar into the ground\u201d.<\/p>\n
Mr Murphy, who provided the figures, described the fund as a \u201ckey initiative\u201d of Rebuilding Ireland and said it aims to \u201cenable housing developments to be built on key sites at scale\u201d.<\/p>\n
He said that the LIHAF was not put in place as an affordable housing scheme within the normal understanding of that term, but instead was \u201cdesigned to activate housing supply, which is a crucial factor in terms of moderating house prices and thereby improving affordability generally\u201d.<\/p>\n
The Dublin Bay South TD said that 629 of the 814 homes delivered through scheme by the end of the first quarter of 2019 were affordable or cost-reduced properties.<\/p>\n
He added that of the 19,979 properties due to be completed by 2021, some 7,986 would be affordable and cost-reduced homes.<\/p>\n
\u201c2,300 affordable homes will be delivered on mainly publicly-owned lands supported through LIHAF, subject to planning permission, along with an additional 5,686 homes which will benefit from a LIHAF-related cost reduction, some of which are already coming to market,\u201d Mr Murphy said.<\/p>\n
Addressing the low draw down, he said: \u201cIn terms of LIHAF funding draw down, thus far, most projects have been at the design and planning stages, with the bulk of expenditure arising during the construction phase, and this is reflected in the level of expenditure to date.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs more projects progress further through construction\/completion of infrastructure works it is expected that the draw down will increase significantly during the rest of 2019 and 2020.\u201d<\/p>\n