The Central Bank’s decision to revise downwards its forecast for residential build completions this year is further proof that the government’s housing plan is in freefall, according to Social Democrats TD Rory Hearne.
Deputy Hearne, who is the party’s housing spokesperson, said:
“The commitment in the programme for government to deliver 300,000 homes by 2030 has been seriously undermined by the Central Bank cutting its forecast from 37,000 completions to 35,000 for 2025. This is 6,000 houses shy of the government’s own target of 41,000 completions for this year.
“Like last year’s fantasy FF/FG target of 40,000 home completions – which flew in the face of significantly lower predictions from the likes of the Central Statistics Office (CSO) and Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) – this government is again plucking numbers out of the air without there being any realistic prospect of achieving them.
“Given the current trajectory, it is difficult to see how the government will be able to scale up delivery to 60,000 homes a year by the end of the decade.
“Just last week, new figures from the CSO revealed a near 40 per cent drop in planning applications for apartments, while the number of approvals for new homes fell by over 21 per cent in 2024.
“However, instead of scaling up the delivery of affordable homes through local authorities and not-for-profit housing bodies, the government is continuing to roll out the red carpet to vulture funds. This failed model simply results in the construction of build-to-rent apartments, which are unaffordable for most people.
“Report after report shows that none of the government’s housing targets will be reached. Less than two months after taking office, this government’s housing plan is already in disarray.
“Separately, in a further blow to those hoping to buy a home, the CSO confirmed today that residential property prices rose by 8.1 per cent in the 12 months to January of this year. This means that the median price of a dwelling was almost €360,000 nationally.
“Shockingly, propertly prices are now 16.9 per cent above their highest level at the peak of the Celtic Tiger boom in 2007.
“Yet again, FF and FG have shown they are incapable of bringing about the radical reset of housing policy that Ireland so badly needs.”
March 19, 2025