Housing

The Social Democrats want to transform our housing system to deliver high quality housing at an affordable cost to renters and to people buying their own home. We want to ensure that everyone in Ireland has a place to call home so they can live their life to its fullest potential.

One of the most basic requirements in a functioning society is the provision of secure and affordable housing. This government claims that housing is its top priority, when in reality, it is its biggest failure. The results speak for themselves with record levels of rents, record levels of homelessness, and the record numbers of people in their twenties and thirties still living in their childhood bedrooms.

At the heart of the housing crisis is an affordability crisis. The Social Democrats would do everything we can to drive down prices – so that people on average incomes can again aspire to own their own home.

To solve this crisis, we need to radically rethink and reimagine the way we provide housing.

Our Housing Priorities

• Put affordability centre-stage and build an average of 29,000 affordable rental, affordable purchase, and social homes every year from 2026 to 2030
• Eradicate homelessness through an ambitious ‘Housing First’ strategy
• Introduce protections for renters, including better security of tenure and a ban on no-fault evictions
• Increase the availability of homes to rent or buy by clamping down on illegal short-term lets
• Eliminate sweetheart deals for developers and end tax breaks for REITS and vulture funds

Find Out More

You can read more about our policies and plans in our Housing policy document, linked below.