The Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF), which was established in 2014, has not found any investable projects for social housing, according to Sinn Féin.

The party's Finance Spokesperson Pearse Doherty TD said it is "beyond belief" that almost a year and a half in which a State Investment Fund in a country with a social housing need has neither spent nor set out any plans to spend a cent on building social housing.

Deputy Doherty said: "When the ISIF was set up out of the NPRF, we were promised that it would be a major tool for investment in our country. However as Sinn Fein argued at the time, the restrictions on the type of investments it could be make were too tight to allow for State investment in critical areas of social need such as social housing. As confirmed today by Minister Noonan, not one cent of the €6.8bn starting fund has been used to provide social housing.

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"The fund has facilitated private developers to build some private homes and speculators such as a Wilbur Ross fund have benefitted from its funding yet when asked specifically about social housing the Minister admitted that no 'investable projects' had been found.

"Today as the Dáil went through another charade, 140,000 people are awaiting social housing. The ISIF is the people's money yet it seems its priority is backing up private money for private housing at a time of huge social need."

(CD)