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JUST 30% OF the government’s new-build social homes target was met in the first nine months of the year, according to Department of Housing figures.
Data measuring the government’s social and affordable housing delivery for Q3 were published.
They show that in the three months from July to September, 1,605 new social homes were delivered, comprising 1,330 new-builds, 120 acquisitions and 155 through leasing programmes.
It means that 3,143 new-build social homes have been built so far this year, out of a target of 10,000.
So far this year, 461 social homes had been acquired of a total target of 200, and 425 of a target of 1,540 through leasing programmes.
Sinn Fein housing spokesperson Eoin O Broin said the figures showed the government would miss their social and affordable housing targets in 2025, while Social Democrats housing spokesperson Rory Hearne accused the government of misleading the public with figures.
The Department of Housing said the number of new-build social homes is 41% higher during the third quarter of this year compared to the same quarter in 2024, when 946 were delivered, and the total was over 48% higher than the same period in 2024 (2,120).
Minister for Housing James Browne said he viewed the housing delivery figures as “very encouraging” but said “more must be done”.
“The data reflects the strong momentum with growth accelerating and robust pipelines in place – ensuring more families can access secure, high-quality homes,” Browne said.
At the same time, I recognise that more must be done. That is why, under our new Housing Action Plan, ‘Delivering Homes, Building Communities’, we are significantly scaling up delivery of new social homes built each year to on average 12,000 annually to 2030.
Browne added that the government is working with a “laser-like focus” to ensure local authorities meet their targets.
The minister pointed to “unprecedented” funding of nearly €20 billion to help support the delivery of 72,000 new social homes as part of the plan.
In response to the figures, Sinn Fein TD Eoin ó Broin said that the figures that demonstrate that the Housing Minister is “asleep at the wheel” after his first year in the role.
“At the end of his first year in office, he is missing his social and affordable housing targets just like his predecessor,” Ó Broin said.
Social Democrats housing spokesperson Hearne said that the 134 new-build social homes provided by the State during the first nine months are “nowhere near the 10,000 direct-build social homes that were promised by the end of the year”.
The government is making misleading claims on social and affordable housing delivery – when you drill down through these figures, you see that a substantial proportion of what’s considered affordable housing delivery is not actually the building of affordable homes, but various forms of market subsidies.
Hearne added that it was “particularly egregious” to declare the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant as affordable housing when there are no affordability requirements attached to the support.
“We know that at least a quarter of those grants are taken up by private landlords for rental properties,” Hearne said.
“Only one in 10 of these homes is actually delivered by local authorities for affordable purchase, and only one in four is a cost-rental or affordable home delivered by the State, with the remaining 75% being market subsidies,” Hearne added.
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