Social housing delivery must be 'turbo charged' to meet government targets

Labour TD Conor Sheehan has called out the slow progress of social housing delivery following the publication of the Q1 figures, stating delivery must "turbo charged"

News Stephen Holland Local Democracy Reporter 17:33, 29 Jul 2026 View Image Construction site stock photo (Image: Getty Images)

Social housing delivery must be “turbo charged” to meet the annual target according to one Labour TD.

Labour’s housing spokesperson Conor Sheehan TD has called out the slow progress of social housing delivery following the publication of the Q1 figures. Pointing that social and affordable housing targets were never met under Housing for All , he believes “it’s clear that Minister Browne’s plan is on course to meet the same failure”.

The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage has today published its social housing delivery statistics, which shows that new-build social homes have more than doubled in the first three months of the year. While Deputy Sheehan points out a need to increase delivery, the report shows 23,257 social homes now at various stages of design and construction and 832 new social homes delivered in the first quarter.

“While the performance is substantially better when compared with Q1 of 2025, we are nowhere near where we need to be in terms of delivery of social housing in Ireland. In its most recent housing plan, Government have essentially abandoned annual housing targets, opting for an overall five-year figure of 12,000 social houses per year of the plan,” Deputy Sheehan stated.

“We knew that when Government sought to remove the very tools needed to measure progress, they were ultimately seeking to remove accountability.

“Based on today’s published figures, progress remains too slow. On the current trajectory, the best we can expect in terms of social housing delivery for 2026 is an additional 3328 homes coming on stream, falling well short of the 12,000 homes set out in the Action Plan.

“The proposed 12,000 units, which we are no where near on course to meeting, falls far short of what is needed. Labour has consistently called for at least 15,000 new social homes each year, in line with the Housing Commission’s analysis. Yet this Government has chosen to ignore that evidence.

“With every passing year the housing deficit continues to grow. The failure to invest in and build adequate social housing is a cause of rising homelessness and the failure to set proper ambitious delivery targets is not good enough.”

Minister for Housing James Browne TD highlighted the significant increase on the previous year and highlighted that “we ultimately delivered a record number of new-build social homes”. “That was a serious uptick in public delivery,” he said.

“I want to be clear that while I welcome figures like this, which show momentum, there’s no space for complacency. I won’t accept it and I have not taken my foot off the pedal. There’s too far yet to go. I know people are depending on us to get this right and get social and publicly delivered homes built in communities right across the country. But we’re going in the right direction and that matters.

“I certainly want to see this momentum continue throughout the year. The full picture regarding delivery will also be much clearer towards the end of the year as local authority delivery is typically slowest in the first three months – with a significant part of delivery actually occurring in the second half of the year.”

But Dublin City Council has expressed concern around meeting housing targets for 2030 , with Assistant Chief Executive Mick Mulhern stating they are "around 8,000 short”. At the most recent Housing SPC held earlier this month, Mr Mulhern Mulhern revealed the Department of Housing has given the council a target of 19,384 new homes over four years. This includes 10,158 social homes and 9,226 starter homes, which is a new term set to replace affordable and cost rental housing.

Looking at DCC’s known pipeline for delivery, he admits the council is coming up short. But, Mr Mulhern said currently little information on delivery by Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) post 2028 is available and delivery by the Land Development Agency (LDA) on land they own is not included in their figures. He stated they will be meeting with delivery partners over the coming weeks, and will come back to councillors in September with a “clear picture” on the “actual target gap”.

Mr Mulhern expressed doubt that, as it currently stands, the delivery will be able to meet the target of nearly 20,000 given by the Department. “I think it will either be alarming or maybe we’ll be a bit more optimistic about it,” he said of the potential outcome of their meetings.

“If you’re not already working on a scheme it’s unlikely you’ll see delivery on that before the end of 2030. If you are going to a site fresh tomorrow, actual completions in a four and half year period will be really challenging. That’s not to say it won’t happen and it can be done, but I think it will be a risk,” he said.

In order to address shortfalls in housing delivery, DCC is now preparing the Housing Development Action Plan (HDAP) 2027-2030. The first step of this is an overall assessment of actual housing demand done in conjunction with the council’s planning department.

Executive Manager Ruth Dowling said this based on four core principles: Evidence based planning which examines population trends, strategic alignment with local and national policies, balanced and integrated delivery with a mix of approaches and partners, and ensuring deliverability and risk management.

A needs demand assessment will be compared to the council’s existing housing list and target from the Department of Housing. A programme across tenure types, funding streams, delivery partners will be developed, along with identifying new lands for housing. DCC aims to publish their Housing Action Plan before the end of the year.

One key action Ms Dowling outlined is the need for DCC to “validate their pipeline,” as there are so many different bodies involved in social housing delivery that they must consolidate the overall figures. With homes delivered directly by DCC, AHBs, and the LDA, a cohesive plan is needed to ensure the right mix of tenure and appropriately address the great need for three and four-bedroom homes.

This content is funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme

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