LAST UPDATE | 12 Mar 2025

THE NUMBER OF houses and apartments granted planning permission fell by 21% last year compared to 2023. 

The total number of units granted approval in 2024 was 32,401, down from 41,225 in the previous year, according to newly released data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

The number of apartments granted permission fell by a massive 39% compared to 2023, while approvals for houses dropped by 2.7%. 

The CSO report will make for difficult reading in Government buildings as the housing crisis drags on, especially given the fact that the last government missed its own housing targets by around 10,000 homes last year. 

The housing crisis came up during Taoiseach Micheál Martin’s Oval Office meeting with US President Donald Trump today. 

Trump was asked for his opinion on the issue by reporters.

He said: “Do you know why they have a housing crisis? Because they’re doing so well. The can’t produce houses fast enough. That’s a good problem, not a bad one. Everybody should have that problem.”

In response, Martin said: “That’s a pretty good answer, Mr President.”

Opposition TDs have deplored the laughter that followed from both Trump and Martin.

“The Taoiseach joining in the laughter about the Irish Housing Crisis is sickening,” social Democrats housing spokesperson TD Rory Hearne wrote on X. 

The Taoiseach joining in the laughter about the Irish Housing Crisis is sickening.
There's nothing funny about record homelessness, a generation stuck in overpriced rentals, stuck in childhood bedrooms or emigrating... pic.twitter.com/7HDMru5aFy

— Rory Hearne (@RoryHearneGaffs) March 12, 2025

“Do the thousands of people in emergency shelters think this is funny?” asked Sinn Féin housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin in a post on X. 

“Joking about the housing crisis is never “a good answer,” he said. 

Labour’s Conor Sheehan commented on Martin’s laughter in Washington as well, while making reference to the CSO statistics released today. 

“It goes to show what those on the hard edge of the housing crisis are up against,” Sheehan said in a statement.

“A Taoiseach who laughs at the crisis of our times, a Minister who has disappeared and his assistant Minister proposing putting our young people in sheds, rather than focusing on delivering sustainable, long term housing solutions. 

“Today’s comments are in the context of CSO figures outlining that planning permissions granted for apartments are down 39% last year, something that raises serious concerns for the long-term supply of homes. 

Sheehan said the trends in housing “are all going in the wrong direction – delivery of homes is going down, while homelessness and demand for housing continues to soar”.

“The Taoiseach’s response? Slap his knees and chuckle all the way from Washington. He will have serious questions to answer on his return.”

Rory Hearne said that the CSO figures “highlight the significant impact of housing costs on deprivation levels in Ireland”.

“This government has accepted that its own housing plan is not working. However, instead of changing course, it wants to double down on failure. When will it accept that relentless increases of already sky-high house prices and rents cannot continue?”

Ein Ó Broin said: “The government’s lack of ambition in social and affordable housing delivery and the excessive bureaucracy imposed on Local Authorities and Approved Housing Bodies are among the reasons for the deeply concerning planning grant figures.”