Cabinet approves new €1b housing infrastructure fund

The Irish Government is moving to boost the construction of new homes with the launch of a €1 billion Housing Infrastructure Investment Fund (HIIF) aimed at addressing key bottlenecks in public infrastructure. The fund is expected to accelerate house-building across towns and cities between 2026 and 2028.

Minister for Housing James Browne is set to bring a memo to Cabinet detailing the fund’s scope, following which the first call for projects will be issued to local councils and the Land Development Agency (LDA).

The focus is on “shovel-ready” infrastructure projects that can move immediately and unlock housing sites, covering essential services such as water, electricity, and transport.

HIIF represents the largest housing infrastructure fund announced in recent years and will be overseen by the Department of Housing’s Housing Activation Office. The Minister has emphasised that the fund is designed to complement, not replace, other council or departmental funding streams.

The initiative comes alongside the Department of Infrastructure’s Accelerating Infrastructure Action Plan, which aims to reduce delays in delivering major projects.

Measures include capping legal costs for judicial reviews and introducing legislation to place judicial review processes on a statutory footing, giving the Government clearer parameters to speed up infrastructure delivery.

The combined approach is intended to streamline the planning and execution of large-scale housing projects, helping to meet growing demand and ease housing shortages. By prioritising ready-to-go projects, the Government aims to ensure that investments translate quickly into tangible construction outputs.

This fund is a strategic move to remove longstanding barriers to housing construction and create a pipeline of new homes across Ireland’s towns and cities.

Learn more about the Housing Infrastructure Investment Fund and its impact on the Irish construction sector.