The Government has announced the extension to the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund's (ISIF) homes funding programme, with an additional €400m being allocated for equity-based housing investments.
The funding will build on ISIF's existing housing related commitments of €1.2 billion which has supported the delivery of 11,250 new homes so far.
It aims to deliver over 25,000 new homes by 2025 for owner-occupiers, renters, people who need social housing and students.
Under this equity allocation, new housing investments by ISIF will be a blend of short-term and long-term initiatives that will support the development of new mass-market homes.
Minister for Finance, Michael McGrath welcomed ISIF's new allocation, which he said will provide a timely boost to the delivery of new homes in Ireland.
"Securing access to equity is key to unlocking access to senior debt for residential development," he said.
"Therefore, this capital, together with construction debt financing, will result in a multiple of the Fund’s investment ultimately financing the delivery of new homes, for owner-occupiers, renters and people who need social housing.
"These investments will not only provide equity to support short-term housing delivery, but critically will also seek to structurally improve the long-term funding landscape for Irish homebuilding," he added.
Today's announcement follows recommendations from the Housing for All Investment Workstream which identified an equity funding gap in the residential development finance market, with evidence to support further state involvement in the provision of equity for residential development.
Nick Ashmore, Director of ISIF said they are building on their existing housing-related investments to address the emerging gaps identified.
"ISIF has a strong track record in deploying capital in a targeted and commercial manner to address critical economic challenges and this extension of our housing delivery investments reflects how important this sector is to Irish society and the Irish economy," he said.
