A national target of 60,000 new homes per year should be set, with half of these delivered in the Greater Dublin Area to align with increased population growth and pent-up demand in the region, Dublin Chamber has urged the Government.
The proposal is contained within the business lobby’s pre-budget submission. Just 30,330 homes were completed during 2024, while the programme for government pledges to deliver more than 300,000 by the end of 2030. This year’s target is 41,000.
“Dublin does not have sufficient housing and infrastructure to meet its current needs, and the future outlook is bleak,” Dublin Chamber said.
The group also called on Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe to increase the standard rate income tax band by a minimum of €2,100 for single earners and €4,200 for married couples.
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It said this adjustment would help “redress the lack of indexation in recent years and ensure that workers are not penalised for modest income growth that simply keeps pace with inflation”.
It also called for capital gains tax on disposals of investments in unquoted, actively trading Irish companies to be cut from 33 per cent to 20 per cent.
“This measure would directly incentivise entrepreneurial risk-taking,” it said. “It would also more effectively appeal to gain-seeking investors than existing measures such as the Employment and Investment Incentive Scheme (EIIS).”
The group was also critical of the supports available to small businesses. It said Dublin’s start-up ecosystem “is faltering”, and that early-stage funding has “declined sharply” since peaks in 2021.
“Instead of attracting entrepreneurs and founders, the current system often deters them, weighed down by misaligned and bureaucratic supports,” it said.
Furthermore, it called Ireland’s non-residential stamp duty rate of 7.5 per cent a “significant barrier” to commercial development across offices, logistics, and retail.
“In an already high-cost market, this rate adds a substantial upfront cost, undermines project viability, and deters both domestic and international investment,” it said.
It recommended a return to the pre-2017 rate of 2 per cent to “unlock stalled development, ease supply constraints, and support wider economic growth”.
The group said businesses are “increasingly dissatisfied and frustrated” by the lack of delivery of infrastructure by the Government. “Many do not believe that the investments proposed under the Programme for Government will happen, given past delays,” it said.
On water, it said Dublin faces a “major crisis”, and that the provision of water and wastewater in the Greater Dublin Area is “wholly inadequate and in need of urgent review”.
“The risk of a water shortage due to necessary maintenance and remedial work is high and rising,” it said.
“The lack of water and wastewater is a direct limiting factor on the delivery of affordable accommodation across the Greater Dublin Area.
“Currently, Uisce Éireann has no mandate or increased funding to support the supply of new housing developments. This must change and Government must put in place a multiannual budget for the utility to ensure new housing developments are connected.”
At present, the Greater Dublin Area is “excessively reliant” on a single water source, with 85 per cent coming from the Liffey.
The group said the Eastern and Midlands Water Supply Project is “urgently required” to meet the needs of half of Ireland’s population.
“This must be accompanied by the Greater Dublin Drainage Scheme (GDDS), as the need for wastewater facilities has risen in line with the growing population,” it said.
“The need for adequate wastewater facilities and the building of the GDDS cannot be overstated. If this facility is not built, this will have a detrimental effect on the provision of housing.”
