The housing crisis has tormented governments for years now, and will likely continue to torment governments into the future. Still, according to one of the State’s biggest home builders, Government policy is on the right track.
According to Glenveagh Homes chief executive Stephen Garvey, last year’s changes to design standards, an overhaul of the rent rules and a reduction in VAT on new builds, had removed an estimated €100,000 “viability gap” for apartments.
“Ireland is now being looked upon as having potentially addressed these big issues,” Garvey said.
It’s not just Glenveagh’s Garvey who appears to be optimistic about the future of housing. Also on Friday, a report from Sherry FitzGerald praised a number of moves made by the Government. They included “advancing large‑scale reforms aimed at increasing supply, stabilising the rental sector, and underpinning delivery through expanded national infrastructure investment”.
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“At this point in time, there is much reason for optimism regarding a meaningful increase in housing output over the medium-term,” Sherry FitzGerald said.
All that will be music to Micheál Martin and James Browne’s ears, but as with all these things, the results won’t be visible for a while yet.
Just this week, data from banking lobby group Banking & Payments Federation Ireland showed there were just over 16,000 housing commencements during 2025, down from more than 69,300 in 2024.
That sort of number will inevitably put pressure on the State’s housing targets for the years ahead, especially given the sharp drop off in Dublin where the bulk of the new construction is needed.
The low level of commencements, particularly the 12,600 housing estate homes and apartments, points to a “likely reduction in output” in early 2027, BPFI chief economist Ali Ugur said.
This goes to highlight the intrinsic problem facing the Government when it comes to housing.
If you listen to Glenveagh and Sherry FitzGerald, it seems it has finally got the policies in place to spur new construction. Yet the lead in time for new homes means any houses that start to be built now won’t be occupied for at least 18 months.
There is plenty of scope for the crisis to get even worse before it gets better.
