THE GOVERNMENT IS set to miss its 2030 housing target by as many as 136,000 homes, according to a new report.

Deloitte estimates that 40,000 homes will be built in 2026, and while it’s a 10% increase on last year, it means 260,000 more houses must be built in the next four years to reach target.

Currently, the rate of planning permission approvals is not keeping pace, the Deloitte Crane Survey report finds 

Nearly 182,130 homes have been granted planning permission in Ireland in the last five years, but that doesn’t guarantee they’ll be built.

From 2017 to 2020, some 25% to 32% of permissions lapsed without construction commencing, according to data from the Central Bank of Ireland.

Deloitte applied this ratio to the existing home completion figures and predicted that the country will miss its 2030 target by between 123,400 and 136,100 homes.

Kate English, chief economist at Deloitte Ireland, said the next 12 to 18 months will be “critical” in determining whether 2030 targets are met.

She said there may be less incentive for developers to build after this year as the development levy waiver is due to expire.

Meanwhile, there has been a decline in the delivery of purpose-built student accommodation developments in the last two years, alongside an increase in enrolments.

Just 365 beds were completed in 2025 across two schemes – 115 at Buckley House in Maynooth, Co Kildare and 250 at The Artisan in Dublin 1.

This marked a decline from almost 900 bed spaces in 2024 and was well below the 10-year annual average of 1,620.

Completions in 2026 are set to improve only marginally, Deloitte says, with 380 beds to be created across two schemes.

Some 11,875 beds in developments have secured planning permission, but it is difficult to estimate how many will be built.