Housing completions up 35%, but still fall far short of Ireland’s urgent need, experts warn

Six of eight geographic regions recorded an increase in homes built, including an 85% rise in Dublin.  Picture: Pexels

The number of new homes being built in Ireland is “still nowhere near where they need to be,” as new figures revealed just over 15,000 were built in the first half of this year.

The Central Statistics Office said on Thursday that 9,214 new homes were built across April, May and June 2025.

While this was a significant increase of 35% on the same months last year, the latest figures show that the number of homes built this year is likely to fall well below Government targets.

Ian Lawlor, managing director of Roundtower Capital, which lends to developers, said that an “exponential increase” in housing delivery is needed to turn the tide on steep house price and rent inflation.

“A 35% increase in housing completions is encouraging, but they are still nowhere near where they need to be,” he said.

“We are calling for emergency housing legislation that would fast-track developments of national importance, overriding the legal delays and local inconsistencies that currently hamper builders' ability to deliver projects efficiently.

“Just as Ireland demonstrated its capacity to build pandemic hospitals within weeks and mobilise resources overnight, we must now apply that same energy and coordination to housing delivery.” 

Despite the figures suggesting the Government will fall short of its target of 41,000 homes this year, and likely fall more within Central Bank estimates of around 34,000 new homes, there were some encouraging signs in the latest CSO figures.

The number of apartments built in the second quarter of this year stood at 3,053, which was more than double the number of completions from Q2 2024.

Six of eight geographic regions recorded an increase in homes built, including an 85% rise in Dublin.

Minister for Housing James Browne welcomed the figures and said he was determined to “accelerate the pace of delivery” as the Government aims to pull several levers in a bid to boost housing supply.

“There is no single solution to our housing challenges, a multi-faceted approach is required,” he said.

“This is why this government has implemented planning reforms to extend permissions for developments approaching the end of their timeframe, introduced targeted measures to increase rental supply and attract investment in the residential sector, and rolled out new supports to assist both prospective homebuyers and renters.”