Housebuilder Glenveagh to start on 3,000 homes in Dublin and Cork after 'tough year'

Pictured are Stephen Garvey, Glenveagh CEO and Cathal Mooney, Head of Health & Safety, who were on hand to announce that Glenveagh Properties plc has commenced the reopening of 16 construction sites in line with public health guidelines. Picture: Fennell Photography.

Glenveagh Properties said it will start to deliver on a €500m plan to build 3,000 new homes at sites including in Dublin and Cork, as the State's second-largest housebuilder aims to put the disruption to the home construction industry from the Covid-19 crisis behind it. 

The projects cover six sites and also include Dublin City and extending an existing site in Maryborogh Ridge in Co Cork, as well as sites in Kildare and Kilkenny.

Irish housebuilders are attempting to catch up with some of the lost output after the worst year since the fallout of the financial crisis 10 years ago. 

In new forecasts, the Economic and Social Research Institute predicts that the effects of the Covid disruption this year on housebuilding will also be long-lasting.

The think tank predicts only 19,600 new homes will be completed in 2021, up from 18,500 this year, but well short of the 30,000 new homes required each year over a number of years if supply is to come anywhere near meeting demand.

The shortfall could add to pressures on house prices and rents if the economic recovery from the Covid crisis gathers steam as the vaccines are rolled out. 

Shares in Glenveagh and Cairn Homes, which is the State's largest housebuilder, had been hit hard in recent years. 

Glenveagh shares, which rose 1.6% in the latest session, have now rallied by around 7% from a year ago, to value the firm at €736.3m. 

“2020 has been tough for the economy, but we remain really confident about the coming years," its chief executive Stephen Garvey said.