Glenveagh: Cork 'no exception' to Ireland’s serviced land shortage crisis

Glenveagh’s profits have more than doubled in 2025, but its CEO warns zoning and infrastructure block Ireland’s housing goals

Sat, 27 Sep, 2025 - 07:00

Ronan Smyth

One of the State’s largest home builders, Glenveagh Properties, is having a strong 2025 so far, with revenues and profits soaring between January and June.

However, the lack of availability of serviced and zoned land for development is making it difficult for developers to build the homes people need, and Cork is “no exception”.

Housing completions remain well behind targets, and they look set to fall significantly short over the coming years.

The Government is aiming for 300,000 new homes by 2030. Last week, the Central Bank of Ireland revised down its housing completion forecasts for 2026 and 2027, citing shortages of critical water and energy infrastructure as a major constraint on supply.

The Central Bank is forecasting housing completions to hit 32,500 for this year, before reaching 36,000 in 2026 and 40,000 in 2027.

According to data from the CSO, during the first six months of the year there have been just over 15,000 home completions — a near 20% increase when compared to the same time last year, but still not remotely close to the required amount.

The lack of available and serviced land is a bottleneck for developers.

Glenveagh Homes apartment blocks under construction by Conack at the former 'Live at the Marquee' site. Picture: Larry Cummins

Stephen Garvey, the chief executive of Glenveagh, said that “we do face a similar challenge throughout the country, and Cork is no exception”, which is the “availability of zoned land in appropriate locations”.

“Without that land in sufficient quantities, it’s not possible for housebuilders to build the homes Ireland needs so badly,” he said.

Better availability of zoned land in the right places makes it easier to overcome the viability challenge and to increase supply

“The challenges around zoning land and providing access to the necessary infrastructure to service land is a nationwide problem, and emergency action is needed to address this.”

Mr Garvey said the company is “very comfortable” that it can “deliver homes in the right locations across Cork and across Munster”, but the “supply shortage is so significant that there’s a lot of scope to do more to address the zoning and servicing challenges that the industry faces”.

Speaking to the Irish Examiner’s ieBusiness Podcast, Cork property developer Michael O’Flynn said the deficit in housing is not being addressed and the problem is only getting worse.

“We should be at 60,000 units plus, but we’re down at the 30,000s plus or minus,” Mr O’Flynn said.

“We have a problem that is spiralling out of control.

“Unfortunately, we have spent a number of years facing up to these targets.

“We know we are not going to meet them, and thus need an emergency approach.”

Mr Garvey has also called for emergency legislation or some means of fast-tracking infrastructure investment, saying that he has “no doubt” the company can increase capacity to deliver homes but the key component to that is infrastructure.

Stephen Garvey said Glenveagh is ‘very comfortable’ it can deliver homes across Munster, but a lot more can be done to address zoning of land.

During the week, Gleveagh published its half-year results which showed the company was on track to deliver 2,600 completions by the end of the year, after doubling its output in the first six months of 2025.

The property developer reported 900 completions between January and June, up from just 424 in the same period last year.

Mr Garvey said the company is committed to delivering 3,600 units a year over the medium term.

He said within Munster — specifically the counties of Cork, Waterford, Limerick, and Clare — Glenveagh’s current landbank has the potential to support the delivery of over 3,000 homes, “highlighting the focus we are placing on Munster”.

He added that it remains open to opportunities to acquire more land with development potential in Munster.

According to the company, it has a number of projects announced or under construction in Cork.

Four tower cranes in position for the Glenveagh Homes apartment blocks under construction by Conack at the former 'Live at the Marquee' site. Picture: Larry Cummins

These include a development at Marina Depot in Cork City, beside Páirc Uí Chaoimh, which will deliver over 1,100 homes — of which 337 will be cost rental and social homes. It is expected that the first homes here will be delivered in early 2027.

The company is expected to commence work on the wider part of the site next year, which will include investing in local amenities and commercial units.

In terms of units already on the market, the company has 274 apartments of various sizes in its Blackrock Villas development in Cork City. Prices here start from €233,000.

'Strong relationships'

In Midleton, Glenveagh Maple Woods development will feature two-, three-, and four-bedroom residential units — with prices starting at €350,000.

Mr Garvey said the company’s experience working in Cork has been “very positive”, with “strong relationships with suppliers and subcontractors”.

“Over the last 12 months, we have activated four projects in Cork and hope to activate further sites in 2026,” he said.

“We’ve had a really constructive, practical, and productive working relationship with Cork City Council.

“Our collaboration at Marina Depot with the council, and indeed the Land Development Agency, is a case in point of how public private partnerships can make an important contribution to increasing housing supply, with each sector working effectively together through their respective strengths.”

During the summer, the Government made a number of changes to apartment regulations in an attempt to encourage construction. The steep fall-off in apartment construction last year was cited as a primary reason for the lacklustre home completion figures.

Glenveagh Homes apartment blocks under construction by Conack at the former 'Live at the Marquee' site. The development site is located beside the newly developed Marina Park at Monahan Road/ Centre Park Road, Ballintemple, Cork. Picture: Larry Cummins

As part of these changes, developers will be allowed to reduce the minimum size for apartments and the requirement for cultural spaces to be built within developments will be removed.

Earlier this month, the chief executive of Cairn Homes, Michael Stanley, said significantly increasing the number of apartments being built is the only route to reaching the Government’s housing targets, adding that the new policies will make a real difference.

He said Cairn Homes is now in the process of redesigning about 60% of the apartment schemes it has in the pipeline.

Mr Garvey said developments in the Cork and wider Munster region will be a combination of housing and apartments, as well as a mixture of tenures — including private sale, cost rental, social, and affordable homes.

"We’re building not just for first-time buyers and other owner-occupiers, but also for renters and people who need social housing."

Glenveagh has been experiencing a strong first half of the year, with revenues soaring by over 120% to €341.6m, while gross profit more than doubled to €66.8m.

The company’s closed and forward order book stands at approximately €1.4bn, providing “strong visibility” on deliveries for the remainder of 2025 and into early 2026.

Glenveagh also reported land sales of more than €60m that are either closed or in advanced stages of contract, which it said reflected the group’s decision “to further optimise capital employed in land and focus on sites of scale”.

The developer secured planning permission for more than 1,500 homes between January and June, with all units for 2026 now with planning permissions granted

Glenveagh is committing to delivering 3,600 homes a year over the medium term and, while that is a sizable amount from one of the country’s largest residential developers, it still represents about 7% of the Government’s target.

Constraints such as shortages of critical water and energy infrastructure have been well-highlighted. With the budget fast approaching, more money will be set aside to address some of these issues.

However, that will take time and, as that is going on, house prices are still continuing to soar.

The latest figures come as data from the CSO shows the median price of a home in Ireland now standing at €374,999. The Residential Property Price Index rose by 7.5% in the 12 months to July 2025.

In Cork and Kerry, prices rose 8.1% in that time.

This is ultimately leading to people being forced to take out higher and higher mortgages in order to pay for homes.

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