Local authorities are to be given a €200m fund in the latest effort to kickstart the construction industry.

The so-called ‘Local Infrastructure Fund’ will pay for roads and other infrastructure for development sites – meaning developers will not have to pay it themselves.

The fund is double what had been promised under the Programme for Government.

Housing minister Simon Coveney has said it will have a major impact on the number of houses built: “What this is about is putting a fund in place, that allows local authorities to compete for that money that can invest in infrastructure that can free up sites, to make sure that housing units get built quickly.

“So that we can actually free up with this expenditure between 15-20,000 units that otherwise maybe frustrated in the process.”