The future of housing delivery in Ireland – what we know and what to expect

We recently reviewed three Local Government Information Unit (LGIU) housing briefings from the past month. Across these documents, a clear narrative is emerging regarding the future of housing delivery.

The push for volume and local leadership

The main point drawn from these briefings is the urgent need to significantly increase the volume of housing over the coming years. Underpinning this drive for volume is a renewed focus on who delivers it. The briefings highlight the critical role of both Local Authorities and Approved Housing Agencies in meeting these new housing targets.

Ambition vs. Capacity

Secondly, it is clear that the national government now clearly holds housing as a main priority. However, the briefings also highlight a genuine concern regarding the practicalities of delivery. There are significant doubts about the construction sector’s capacity in Ireland to meet the Government’s ambitions. Specifically, the concern is whether the sector can handle this increased volume while successfully delivering a diverse range of housing.

For further context, the briefings informing this update are listed below.

1. The evolution of the EU’s housing policy

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In keeping with the times, perhaps we should start with a slogan. Make Housing Affordable Again! At least that seems to be the thrust of the new initiative from the EU that has seen the appointment for the first time of a Commissioner for Housing and the publication of a plan to address the housing affordability crisis affecting countries across Europe.

We are regularly told that housing is not a matter of EU competence. As one of the most local public services, housing policy has traditionally been left to the Member States and, usually, regional or local authorities.  Although this mantra still holds, it is clear that the EU is taking a growing interest in how member states address their individual housing crises. The reasons are not hard to find.

A lack of affordable housing is familiar to many, if not most, EU member states. This has led to increased strains on public and household finances, impacting the competitiveness of European economies. The social consequences of a lack of affordable housing impinge on the well-being of a large part of the European population and have contributed to a rise in homelessness.

Having determined that many EU countries are facing a housing crisis, the EU has decided that it is time to act. The focal point is the European Affordable Housing Plan, which was published in December of last year. Never slow to commit thoughts to paper, the various institutions of the EU have published a multitude of supporting documents that have served as input to the new plan.

But what does this all mean for a Member State like Ireland? Can we expect to see directives that will shape domestic housing policy, or is it primarily about broadening the scale and scope of EU funding and encouraging the sharing of ideas and best practice examples? As matters stand, the nature of the initiative can be captured in the double-edged greeting, ‘I am from the EU, and I am here to help.’ However, it is still early days, and policies and funding channels are likely to evolve further over the next few years.

In this briefing, we outline some of the main changes taking place at the EU level in the approach to making and implementing housing policy, and how this affects Ireland.

2. Delivery of approved housing in Ireland: report of the Approved Housing Body Strategic Forum

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Completed in June 2025 but only published the same day as the new housing plan, Delivery Homes Building Communities [DHBC], the report from the Approved Housing Body Strategic Forum has come in somewhat under the radar. It is positioned as a simple input to DHBC, one of whose actions is to implement the reforms identified in the report.

Action 63 Support Approved Housing Bodies by initiating a programme of priority reforms as detailed in the Approved Housing Body Strategic Forum Report, that will deliver sectoral scale, resilience, efficiencies and long-term sustainability.

However, the report is far more significant than this. It indeed provides the framework for a range of strategic reforms to the voluntary housing sector that go beyond anything considered in the new housing plan. It also, unusually among official policy documents, provides a detailed account of the relevant recommendations by the Housing Commission and is closely aligned to the intent and objectives set out by the Commission.

Finally, the report has been prepared by a Forum with input from key stakeholders. It thus represents as close as you are likely to get to a representative and authoritative view of an agreed future role for the sector.

In this briefing, we outline and comment upon the main recommendations from the report.

3. Delivering Homes Building Communities: Further impressions

Perhaps with a nod to the 2007 Statement of Housing Policy, ‘Delivering Homes Sustaining Communities’, the new housing plan has finally been published. The LGIU released initial impressions on the day of its publication. Now that a few days have passed, this briefing provides the reader with additional insights.

In 2007, the Ministers at the time, Dick Roche TD and Noel Ahern TD, outlined their plans for a new phase in the evolution of housing policy in Ireland, centred on the idea of creating sustainable communities. It adopted an expansionist vision and implementation strategy that sought to utilise housing policy to support those experiencing social and economic disadvantage and to assist those left behind as the economy grew.

Coming as it did in the final years of the Celtic Tiger, the policy statement, which had been endorsed by the Social Partners, aimed to achieve a step change in the provision of housing support through effective delivery, while also offering more choice for households. As of today, the demand for housing remains high, with house prices and rents also increasing. The difference was that in 2007, over 77,000 new homes were built, the vast bulk of them by developers for the market.

This briefing analyses some of the main themes in the new housing plan and offers some thoughts on how the plan might meet the challenges facing policymakers today.