The Government’s new housing plan, to be called Delivering Homes, Building Communities, will aim to deliver 90,000 “starter homes” over the next five years.
Overall, the Government has pledged the delivery of more than 300,000 new homes by the end of 2030.
The new plan, to be brought to Cabinet by Minister for Housing James Browne on Wednesday, will be published on Thursday. It will outline details of how the commitment is to be met.
There is to be an additional €2.5 billion in funding for the Land Development Agency (LDA), which will have an expanded role under the latest plan for tackling the housing crisis.
READ MORE
The Irish Times reported earlier this week that the ramping up of the role of the LDA includes delivering homes in a wider geographic area and acquiring more private and State land.
The additional €2.5 billion in funding, signed off on by Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe, was flagged by Taoiseach Micheál Martin in recent weeks.
It brings the LDA’s total allocation to €8.75 billion.
As many as 12,000 social homes and 15,000 affordable housing units could be delivered per year, on average, under the funding available for the housing plan.
It is understood that the 90,000 “starter homes” in the plan include any home where the State will provide a support to purchase or renovate a property for first-time buyers.
Separately, Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment Darragh O’Brien is expected to brief Cabinet on his department’s investment plans under the National Development Plan (NDP).
It was previously announced that €3.5 billion has been earmarked in the NDP for equity investment in energy projects, with ESB Networks and EirGrid to help deliver electricity infrastructure to support housing development.
Other investment planned by the department under the NDP includes €558 million next year to support the retrofitting of homes for energy efficiency, including grants for solar panels.
Mr O’Brien will separately, as Minister for Transport, seek approval for a dedicated MetroLink delivery body and the preparation of draft legislation to set it up.
The establishment of a body for MetroLink is intended to aid the delivery of the rail line from Swords to Dublin city centre via Dublin Airport.
[ Rental crisis to intensify as ‘starved of supply’ housing stock dips below 2,000Opens in new window ]
Meanwhile, the next census is set to take place on Sunday, May 9th, 2027, under proposals due to be brought to Cabinet by the Taoiseach. Under the plans for the census, there will once again be a ‘time capsule’ option where respondents can leave a personal message for future research.
The last census took place in 2022, having been delayed for a year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill is expected to update colleagues on urgent and emergency care, including an 8 per cent reduction of patients on trolleys in hospitals at 8am counts during the first 10 months of 2025 compared with the same period last year. This amounted to 7,800 fewer patients waiting on trolleys for an inpatient bed.
There have been more than 1.34 million presentations to emergency departments over the 10 months – a 4 per cent increase on the same period in 2024.
Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke is expected to outline plans to open an emergency humanitarian flooding scheme for businesses impacted by floods in Bantry, Co Cork, last week.
Meanwhile, he will offer an update on efforts to strengthen the powers of the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC), including how there have been appointments to its leadership team.
There is also legislation in development to enhance the CCPC’s powers, including stronger penalties for competition law breaches.
Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon is to update Cabinet on the recent outbreaks of avian flu and the efforts to support poultry farmers.
Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Harris is due to update colleagues on Ireland’s participation in this month’s G20 summit in South Africa. The Taoiseach, Mr Martin, is due to attend the summit of world leaders.
[ What do we know about the Government’s new housing plan?Opens in new window ]
