The Government will review its housing targets in the Autumn, according to the Housing Minister.

It follows the leaking of a report from the Housing Commission that shows Ireland may need to build 62,000 homes a year to fill a deficit of 256,000 homes in the State.

The Government’s current target, outlined under the Housing for All strategy, is to construct 33,000 homes annually up to 2030.

On The Hard Shoulder today, Minister Darragh O’Brien said the Government plans to reset its targets on the back of recent reports.

“I’ve said we will be resetting the housing targets once we received the work of the ERSI and the Housing Commission and I expect to reset the targets in the Autumn of this year,” he said.

“In the two full years of Housing for All, we’ve set targets and exceeded them substantially.

“The targets have never been the ceiling, if anything they’ve been the floor.

“While we’re looking to revise the targets, my real focus is continuing to increase the housing supply out there.”

A housing development under construction, Carrigaline, County Cork. Image: David Creedon / Alamy Stock Photo

Minister O’Brien said it will take time to consider recommendations from the Housing Commission report.

“They’ve done a good job after working on this for three years so it requires more than a few days to examine it properly and look at the recommendations that are there,” he said.

“From my initial trawl through, many of the recommendations we are actually doing as it is but there are new things that deserve consideration.

“Thankfully in that time we’ve managed to deliver about 110,000 homes so far, but we need to do more than that.”

Sustainable

Minister O’Brien said homes need to be constructed at a sustainable speed.

“We don’t want a boom and bust like we’ve seen before, we’ve got to build up the capacity within the construction sector,” he said.

“How do we get to 50,000 a year? I think we can do it in the next two years.

“But it depends on the human resources of people working in the construction sector to deliver those homes.”

A housing estate under construction. Image: David Creedon / Alamy

The Housing Minister also said changes in planning must be made to reach housing targets.

“We need an efficient planning system which is referred to in the report.

“I hope to get through a new planning bill by the end of this Dáil term as we need a system that is clear, consistent, and meets the needs of this state so we can have decisions that underpin development across the board – not just in housing.”

Some 32,695 homes were built in Ireland during 2023.

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Main image: Minister for Housing Darragh O'Brien on a site visit to Archers Wood in Delgany, Co Wicklow in March 2023. Picture by: Sam Boal/Rollingnews.ie