Seán Canney TD, Minister of State for International and Road Transport, Logistics, Rail and Ports and Leader in Cabinet of the Independent Ministers, has welcomed today’s opening of the first call for projects under the Government’s new €1 billion Housing Infrastructure Investment Fund (HIIF), and has strongly encouraged local authorities to to grasp the opportunity and submit applications in order deliver more social housing.

The HIIF will allocate €1 billion over the next five years to deliver the essential public infrastructure needed to activate housing sites. It represents one of the largest housing-focused infrastructure investments in the State in many years and is designed to remove infrastructure barriers that have delayed housing delivery.

The Fund will be administered by the new Housing Activation Office within the Department of Housing and forms a central pillar of the Government’s housing plan, Delivering Homes, Building Communities, supporting the delivery of up to 300,000 new homes by 2030.

Today’s first call for projects is open to local authorities and the Land Development Agency and is deliberately focused on shovel-ready projects that can move quickly and deliver homes in the near term.

Welcoming the opening of the call, Minister Canney said:

“This €1 billion Housing Infrastructure Investment Fund is about turning plans into delivery. Local authorities now have a real opportunity to bring forward strong, shovel-ready projects that can unlock land and directly support the delivery of more social housing.”

“I am encouraging councils to engage fully with this first call and to get high-quality applications submitted. Where infrastructure is the missing piece, this fund can put it in place and allow homes to be built without delay.”

Minister Canney said the establishment of the Housing Activation Office is a key reform in aligning investment decisions across infrastructure agencies.

“Bringing together expertise from across the system to identify blockages and target investment is essential if we are to deliver housing at scale, particularly in our towns and regional centres. This fund gives that coordination real financial backing.”

Applications under the first call must be submitted by midday on Friday, 27 February 2026.