The equivalent of one year's supply of housing is stuck in a planning backlog at An Bord Pleanála, according to a new report.

The analysis by Mitchell McDermott Construction Consultants finds that planners have yet to decide on 59% of the Strategic Housing Development (SHD) applications submitted last year.

That amounts to just under 29,000 homes – which is the number of homes the Government hopes will be delivered under its Housing for All plan this year.

The report also notes that a further 29,000 SHD homes which were granted planning permission between 2018 and 2022 have not yet commenced.

Meanwhile, just over 28,500 applications have either been quashed by judicial review or are still awaiting a decision by the courts.

In total, it means just over 86,000 units - nearly three years’ worth of current supply - are either stalled, under review by the courts or not commencing due to viability challenges.

Housing crisis

Company Director and co-author of the report Paul Mitchell told Newstalk that it is unlikely this year’s housing targets will be met.

“There was some good news last year in that the housing target was reached,” he said.

“However, with a 14% drop-off in commencements for new starts, we do not believe that the 29,000-unit target will be met this year, in 2023, and urgent action is required to address this.”

An Bord Pleanála

He said the delays at An Bord Pleanála (ABP) are unacceptable in the middle of a housing crisis – and called for planners to be drafted in from abroad and from the private sector to deal with the logjam.

When it comes to the SHDs that have received planning permission but have not yet commenced, the report found a range of reasons for the delays.

• 33% related to regional apartments which are simply not viable.
• 17% haven’t proceeded due to viability challenges.
• In 17% of cases, the site was sold
• In a further 10% of cases, permission had only recently been granted.

Mr Mitchell also warned that the cost of building a two-bed apartment has risen by up to €25,000 in the last year.

He said it now costs over €240,000 to build a two-bed, suburban apartment- with the price of concrete alone up 27 per cent.

“That’s construction costs only,” he said.

“The total development costs of such a midrange suburban apartment is now in excess of €460,000, which has obvious impacts on viability for schemes and affordability for purchasers or renters.”

He said the report “really underlines the scale of the housing crisis and the urgent need to address shortcomings in our planning system”.