Glenveagh housebuilder calls for incentives as only '23,000 homes to be built this year'

The boss of one of the State's largest house builders -- stock market-listed Glenveagh Properties -- has called for a raft of incentives to boost supply and predicts that, at best, the industry will build only 23,000 homes this year.

Stephen Garvey said the measures should include the Central Bank relaxing its income rule for mortgage borrowers, cutting the Vat rate on homes with low asking prices, and changing the Help-To-Buy scheme, as well as a range of other measures such as helping the supply of student accommodation. The builder, which is focused on the Dublin region but which also has sites in Cork and Limerick, posted a net profit of €22.8m in 2019 on revenues of €284.6m