diff --git a/package/lirc-tools/lirc-tools.mk b/package/lirc-tools/lirc-tools.mk
index af332eaa76..6837042c02 100644
--- a/package/lirc-tools/lirc-tools.mk
+++ b/package/lirc-tools/lirc-tools.mk
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ LIRC_TOOLS_SOURCE = lirc-$(LIRC_TOOLS_VERSION).tar.bz2
 LIRC_TOOLS_SITE = http://downloads.sourceforge.net/project/lirc/LIRC/$(LIRC_TOOLS_VERSION)/
 LIRC_TOOLS_LICENSE = GPLv2+
 LIRC_TOOLS_LICENSE_FILES = COPYING
+LIRC_TOOLS_DEPENDENCIES = host-pkgconf
 
 LIRC_TOOLS_CONF_OPTS = \
 	--without-x \