In the past year, Louth County Council applied for first-stage funding for the port access northern cross route in Drogheda under the Government's much-publicised local infrastructure housing activation fund, LIHAF, programme, which the Tánaiste has specifically stated is for road infrastructure to open up lands for housing. Guess what? The Department rejected the council's application. Louth County Council has indicated that there is no funding opportunity for this priority project from the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport or from any other Department. Is the council correct? When will the Department release the funding for this priority project?

All I can say is that the projects that won funding under the LIHAF scheme – certainly when I was involved – were the projects that could deliver the most houses quickly. Not every application was successful, but many were. We need to focus on delivery now.