Surge in home building with record 18,000 commencements in April

Around 18,000 units got under way in April, which is unprecedented for any month on record and equates to over half of last year’s total commencements in a single month.

A record 18,000 homes began construction last month as builders scrambled to get in ahead of a deadline for ending a waiver on development fees.

Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien is expected to brief his colleagues on what has been described as “extraordinary” figures for April on construction commencements.

The data is expected to show that around 18,000 units got under way in April, which is unprecedented for any month on record and equates to over half of last year’s total commencements in a single month.

Sources have put the spike in building down to a push to submit commencement notices before a waiver on development fees was due to end.

However, this waiver has now been extended until the end of the year.

Mr O’Brien will also update Cabinet on positive first-time-buyer figures which show that 25,600 mortgages were drawn down in 2023, the highest annual level since 2007. This represented some 500 first-time-buyer drawdowns every week.

Separately, Mr O’Brien will bring forward a memo seeking to designate Sligo as an eligible town under the defective concrete block scheme.

Support for businesses

Meanwhile, a financial support mechanism for the retail and hospitality sector is to double, meaning that businesses will be able to claim back up to €10,000 in rates paid last year.

This will be done through a revision of the increased cost of business scheme, which had allowed businesses to claim 50% of last year’s rates up to €10,000, which provided a maximum rebate of €5,000.

The maximum will now be increased to €10,000.

In addition to this, Enterprise Minister Peter Burke is to improve an energy efficiency grant in a bid to help businesses such as retailers, hospitality, and services such as hairdressers that tend to have high electricity costs.

Under the changes, 75% funding will be provided by the State, with businesses having to pay the remaining 25%.

The grant, which goes towards any upgrades that aim to reduce energy consumption such as replacing fridges or upgrading insulation, had previously operated on a 50/50 match funding basis.

Separately, Education Minister Norma Foley and Children’s Minister Roderic O’Gorman will bring a new strategy for literacy, numeracy, and digital literacy that will run from this year until 2033.

It will cover learners ranging in age from birth to young adults.  

Finally, Tánaiste Micheál Martin will update Cabinet on the five Global Ireland Regional Strategies, which take in the US and Canada, Africa, Asia Pacific, the Nordic region, and Latin America and the Caribbean.

It comes as the Department of Foreign Affairs is in the final stages of developing a whole-of-government strategy for the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region.