In November of 2025, the government announced a new housing strategy aimed at speeding up the construction of new homes and tackling homelessness in Ireland. The plan, titled “Delivering Homes, Building Communities,” seeks to build 300,000 new homes, which would include 72,000 social homes and 90,000 affordable housing supports.
In the foreword of the plan, Taoiseach Micheál Martin, Tánaiste Simon Harris and Minister of State at the Department of Transport Sean Carney said that the number of homes was not an upper limit but “a realistic projection of what’s achievable by getting public and private sector partners working effectively together.”
The plan aims to build on the 2021 “Housing For All” plan while further incorporating the roles of the state and the private sector.
This plan intends to stop using annual targets and instead meet its goal by 2030, while releasing annual output reports. When asked why there were no set benchmarks for homes, Minister for Housing James Browne said, “Because the focus is completely now on activation.”
Social Democrats Spokesperson on Housing, Rory Hearne, criticised the plan, calling it “deeply disappointing.”
“I don’t see them having the actual ideas, the competence to deliver this, and I really feel at this point we are looking for a change in Government in terms of getting real action on housing,” he said. “There is no radical change here.”
In contrast, the Taoiseach believes this plan will succeed where others have failed due to the “unprecedented investment” in it. This investment includes €2.5 billion for social and affordable homes, and a plan for the Irish Strategic Investment Fund to deliver a new €400m equity risk capital investment programme.
Some critics have said the plan needs to increase investment and staffing in planning authorities and courts to accelerate decisions and judgments. This comes after An Coimisiún Pleanála rejected a plan for a €100 million extension of the Rotunda Hospital. Dublin City Council approved the plan over the summer, but conservation groups said the expansion would damage the historic Parnell Square, essentially bringing the project to a standstill.
The Government’s plan intends to invest €1 billion in zoned land, which Conor O’Connell of the Construction Industry Federation said, “should result in removing many of the blockages that builders are currently experiencing.”
Concerns about meeting targets on time were common among housing groups. In their statement, the Irish Council for Social Housing said, “The plan unveiled today appears low on specifics when it comes to targets and deadlines on delivery, which is a concern.”
Sinn Féin has an alternative housing plan, “A Home of Your Own,” which claims that it will generate more homes than the Government’s plans and “is focused on affordability and bringing home ownership back within reach of working people.”
In advance of the “Delivering Homes, Building Communities” plan, Sinn Féin Spokesperson on Housing Eoin Ó Broin said, “Repackaging the existing failing housing plan won’t solve the housing crisis. We need a radical reset of housing policy as recommended by the Government’s own Housing Commission.”
The Government’s plan is based on two pillars: ’Activating Supply’ and ‘Supporting People.’
“Tackling this crisis demands new ways of working, with faster but always transparent decision-making and a relentless focus on delivery,” Browne said in the foreword to the plan. “The need for homes is far too essential for us to settle for anything less.”
Nora Malone – News Reporter