Extra €400m given to sovereign fund to encourage SMEs to build more homes
The Government is doubling the cash available to the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF) in its efforts to build more homes, writes Ken Murray.
Some €400m extra is being added to the programme, which will bring the total home-building investment to €800m since it was announced in July 2023.
The main banks will also make an extra €200m in equity finance available, along with the €400m from the ISIF.
The collaboration aims to help small and medium-sized developers to deliver more homes of all types and build on its existing housing-related commitments of €2.5bn, which has helped deliver 19,000 new homes by the end last year and hopes to build more than 25,000 more new homes by 2030.
The ISIF says it is currently on track to achieve this target ahead of 2030.
The collaboration will also provide a mentorship programme to SME developers, in cooperation with the banks, Enterprise Ireland, the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment and their representative bodies.
Tánaiste Simon Harris TD, said: “This demonstrates the impact of using targeted State investment to crowd in private capital and expand the pool of funding available.
“Together, this €600m of equity capital will unlock up to €2bn of finance for housing developments across the country, with the potential to deliver up to 5,000 homes.
“The commitment from the banks will increase the impact of ISIF investments and will also support a more sustainable long-term financing ecosystem for the Irish home-building sector.”
Minister for Housing James Browne said: “Our new housing action plan, Delivering Homes, Building Communities, aims to enable the delivery of over 300,000 homes by 2030.
“The State will do more but it also needs to empower others – particularly the private sector – to further play a critical part in delivery.”
Minister for Housing James Browne. (Pic: Fran Veale)
He said the cash injection from ISIF and banks “will not only deepen the pool of funding available for Irish home building but will enable many more small and medium house-builders to get involved”.
The Minister added: “With this significant injection of funding, it will improve home-builders’ ability to establish a consistent pipeline and greatly assist in scaling up their housing output on a sustainable basis.”
