Additional €60m for Waterford North Quays Project

The fund injection comes on top of the €110m announced for the project last year

Artists impressions of the proposed redevelopment of the Waterford North Quays. The long-stalled project is yet to enter construction phase.

The Government will approve an additional €60m for the Waterford North Quays Public Infrastructure Project, bringing the overall funding to €170m for the long-delayed plan.

Housing Minister Darragh O'Brien will bring the plan to Cabinet today, bumping up the €110m announced last year. 

Of the total funding, €100.6m will come from the Department of Housing under the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF) and €70m from the Department of Transport through the National Transport Authority, to allow Waterford City and County Council to proceed with the appointment of the successful tenderer and commence the construction phase of the project.

Mr O'Brien will also bring a new National Youth Homeless Strategy to Cabinet. 

It will be the first Youth Homelessness Strategy in two decades, and will set out 27 distinct actions to prevent young people from entering homelessness, to improve the experiences of young people in emergency accommodation, and to assist them to exit homelessness.

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar, meanwhile, will be asking the subgroup on insurance reform to continue its work next year. 

Mr Varadkar is expected to bring the third implementation report of the Action Plan for Insurance Reform to Cabinet, with 90% of the actions included in the plan already underway.

Mr Varadkar will also bring forward the legislation behind the €500m Growth and Sustainability Loan Scheme (GSLS) announced in September's Budget for small and medium enterprises, including farmers and food businesses. 

The scheme will provide low-cost loans for investment in a farm's sustainability and energy efficiency measures.

Elsewhere, the Cabinet is set to approve a new support scheme to provide emergency humanitarian support for businesses and community groups affected by the Creeslough tragedy.

The scheme will offer additional support to the community, still reeling from the explosion which claimed the lives of 10 people last month.

The Cabinet will also be asked to approve millions of euros in additional funding for Ukraine and Moldova.