This week’s Housing for All report shows “progress in the right direction”, the former chair of the Housing Agency has said.

The quarterly report found that housing targets were exceeded in 2022 with 29,851 completions - 20% higher than the Government’s target. 

In addition, construction started on 27,000 homes - the second highest number since 2014.

“The figures are up where they should be,” Conor Skehan told Newstalk Breakfast.  

“I mean, there were almost 30,000 homes completed last year. 

“Whatever way you cut it, that’s progress in the right direction.

“All the various initiatives of addressing things like vacancies, they are all, finally, very slowly starting to kick in.” 

P83NHF Housing construction Ireland. Terraced houses in Kinsale, County Cork, Ireland.

Despite this, Mr Skehan cautioned that rising inflation for building materials in the construction sector and hikes in interest rates meant that he was “sceptical” about whether the trend could be maintained in the medium-term. 

“Homeownership is a thing that’s falling all over the world - this is a normal thing for people in larger cities to begin to use rented apartments more,” he said. 

“But with that one quibble aside, yes there’s a definite trend and it’s going in the right direction.”

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said the report proved that the Government had “made good progress in the first full year of the Housing for All plan” and said he was determined “to make home ownership a reality for the many again.”

Main image: Apartment buildings on the north wall of Dublin's Docklands in July 2009. Picture by: Radharc Images / Alamy Stock Photo