THE GOVERNMENT’S NEW housing plan was today defended by the Taoiseach who claimed that the government is making progress on housing.

Micheál Martin said the cost and affordability “continues to be an issue with a growing population”. 

His comments come after the release of the latest report from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) finds that house prices jumped by 7.6% in the year to September.

This is up from the 7.5% rise recorded in the year to August.

Dublin saw prices rise by 5.3%, but they were up by 9.4% outside the capital in the year to September.

The highest median price for a dwelling in the 12 months to September 2025 was €675,000 in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, while the lowest median price was €190,000 in Donegal.

The most expensive Eircode area over the 12 months to September 2025 was Blackrock in Dublin, with a median price of €808,000, while Castlerea, Roscommon had the least expensive price of €148,000.

Speaking during Leaders’ Questions, Labour leader Ivana Bacik described the new housing plan as “old milk in new bottles”.

“Nothing new on affordable home ownership, no clarity on what new powers the Land Development Agency will have, and no ambition on social housing,” she added. 

She accused the government of abandoning annual targets for new home building.

Martin hit back saying Bacik “told an untruth” when she said “the government had no social housing targets”.

The government plans to deliver 12,000 new social homes “every year over the lifetime of the plan”, he said. 

Martin said needs the government needs to deliver upward of 50,000 houses a year, stating that €20 billion needs to be spent every year.

“The state will not be able to do €20 billion every year. The private sector has to be involved,” he said, accusing Labour of consistently being hostile to any private sector dimension to housing. 

Related Reads

Why Ireland's most toothless housing crisis measure is finally getting an overhaul

Gaeltacht agency welcomes housing plan - but uncertainty remains over planning guidelines

Here's what experts think of the government's housing plan

Bacik also criticised a plan to reduce minimum apartment standards, which she said the government: “backed down in the courts on Monday”.

In the High Court this week, the government’s legal representation said it would now carry out a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) to see whether the reduced apartment sizes are in line with existing regulations. They maintain the standard designs launched during the summer will not be modified. 

The Taoiseach responded, saying the new design standards had been put forward because the government wanted to “narrow the viability gap when it came to building apartments”.

The Social Democrats Holly Cairns asked the Taoiseach why annual house building targets were not included in the government’s plans and why the overall target “goes beyond the lifetime of this government”.

Martin claimed that under the previous plan, Housing for All, the Government “exceeded” its targets, describing it as an “inconvenient truth for the opposition”.