Five Meath projects approved under €1bn fund to unlock almost 5,000 homes

Five major infrastructure projects across County Meath have been approved for funding under the Government's new €1 billion Housing Infrastructure Investment Fund (HIIF), with the schemes expected to unlock land for almost 5,000 new homes.

Housing Minister James Browne announced the projects as part of the first phase of the fund, which aims to remove infrastructure barriers preventing housing development on zoned lands across the country.

The successful Meath projects are located in Dunboyne, Ratoath, Kells and Navan and include new distributor roads, junction upgrades and supporting infrastructure designed to facilitate large-scale residential development.

Among the projects approved is the Dunboyne Eastern Distributor Road (DEDR), including a rail overbridge, which has the capacity to directly unlock 1,024 homes and support a further 623 homes.

Funding has also been approved for the Dunboyne R157 Business Park Link, a new link road and junction project expected to directly facilitate 249 homes and indirectly support a further 356 homes.

In Ratoath, Phase 2 of the Outer Orbital Relief Road (ROOR-2) will complete a strategic transport link between the R125 and R155. The project has the potential to directly unlock 364 homes while supporting a further 74 homes.

The Kells Frontlands Distributor Road project will include a new distributor road and junction upgrade capable of directly facilitating 187 homes and indirectly supporting a further 452 homes.

A fifth Meath project, the Navan Local Distributor Road (LDR 1A), will provide a new distributor road and rail overbridge. The scheme is expected to directly unlock land for 451 homes and support the delivery of a further 1,200 homes.

Collectively, the five projects have the potential to facilitate almost 5,000 homes across the county.

Welcoming the announcement, Minister Thomas Byrne said the investment would play a key role in addressing housing demand in one of Ireland's fastest-growing counties.

"This is a hugely significant investment for Meath and for families who want to see more homes built in our communities," he said.

"By investing in the infrastructure needed to unlock development land, we are helping to create the conditions for thousands of new homes to be delivered while also improving connectivity and supporting the continued growth of our towns."

The funding forms part of a major multi-annual Government commitment to housing-enabling infrastructure and will be administered by the Department of Housing's new Housing Activation Office.

Announcing the projects, Minister Browne said the Government was focused on removing barriers that prevent housing delivery.

"We are making our first announcements under the Housing Infrastructure Investment Fund," he said.

"Across the country, including in Meath, we see zoned land lying idle because the critical enabling infrastructure needed to support housing development is not in place.

"The projects I am providing funding for will directly tackle this problem. By investing at scale now, we can accelerate home building."

The Housing Infrastructure Investment Fund will coordinate investment with agencies including Uisce Éireann and ESB Networks to ensure development lands are fully serviced and ready for housing delivery.

The Department said it intends to broaden the programme in a future funding call later this year to include a wider range of public and private sector delivery partners.