88. Deputy Keira Keogh asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the additional support that will be provided to Mayo County Council to accelerate the delivery of turnkey and direct-build housing projects; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38774/26]

Under Delivering Homes, Building Communities, the Government is targeting the delivery of 300,000 new homes by 2030. The plan seeks to significantly scale-up delivery of social and affordable homes and includes key measures to support local authorities to achieve this including:

• The new single approval process for new build social housing projects up to €200m;

• Mandating the use of standard house layouts and specifications for Social Housing;

• Facilitating the use of Modern Methods of Construction through a standardised design approach;

• Embedding the use of a Design Build Contract approach in local authorities which can deliver significant time savings

• Introducing a revamped renewal programme focused on tackling dereliction and vacancy;

• Expanding the role and remit of the Land Development Agency;

• Expanding and streamlining the operation of the Land Acquisition Fund;

• Financially incentivising local authorities to exceed annual ‘own build’ social housing targets;

• Funding ring-fenced social and affordable 'new-build' housing delivery teams in each local authority.

• A transition to a call for proposals approach for the delivery of social homes funded via the P&A CALF funding model which will enhance the suitability of homes being made available to local authorities.

• The Housing Activation Office will identify and seek to address barriers to the delivery of public infrastructure projects required to enable housing development.

The Deputy will be aware that Mayo County Council were recently approved for an infrastructure project under the Housing Infrastructure Investment Fund (HIIF). The funding awarded to Mayo County Council is for the upgrading of the Lodge Road, Westport project. It is estimated that delivery of the upgrade will be by the of 2028. This upgrade will directly unlock lands for 200 residential units and indirectly unlock a further 300 residential units.

While short of their 2022-2025 build target to date (84%), Mayo County Council’s social housing build programme is performing well with delivery last year reaching 99.4% of their annual target. Additionally, the latest Social Housing Construction Status Report shows a strong pipeline in place in Mayo with 441 homes at various stages of design and procurement at the end of Q4 2025, including 142 homes on site.

In terms of affordable housing, approval has been granted under the Affordable Housing Fund for two projects in Mayo which will deliver 40 affordable purchase homes, with the first 5 homes already delivered.

We are also supporting housing supply through the First Home Scheme and the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant. Since the launch of the First Home Scheme, 34 approvals and 14 drawdowns have been recorded in Mayo. Additionally, over 1,000 applications have been received under the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant, with 742 approvals issued and more than €11.7 million paid in grants to bring vacant properties back into use.

Looking ahead, the Land Development Agency has identified a Mayo County Council site in Ballina with the potential to deliver between 190 and 280 homes, providing a significant opportunity for future housing development in the county.

The Government is committed to supporting Mayo County Council to accelerate housing delivery across all available channels.