Central Bank warns housing supply needs to increase by 20,000 a year 

Housing supply 'unable to meet our country’s needs' and 'limiting the sustainable growth of living standards', report says

According to the Central Statistics Office, just under 32,700 homes were built last year. Picture: Leah Farrell/Rollingnews.ie

The Central Bank of Ireland has warned an additional €7bn in financing will be needed a year to increase the supply of new homes to 52,000 annually, with “significant economic costs” expected if action is not taken.

In a report published on Tuesday, the Central Bank said previous estimates of annual housing needs for the period 2020 to 2029 — based on population data from 2018 — ranged from 34,000 to 45,000 units a year. However, population growth has been faster than envisaged.