Department Of Housing Says New Starts Up Despite Residential Challenges

Figures published by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage show 8,408 homes were commenced in the first quarter, the official description for a project that has physically started on-site.

That was a 184% jump on the 2,961 units recorded in the same period last year, and March alone saw 2,939 homes commenced, up 293% year-on-year.

Despite a slowdown last year, the latest numbers build on a stronger housing pipeline over the past two years, with a combined 85,723 homes started across 2024 and 2025 in total, up 43% compared with the previous two-year period.

In addition, Allied Irish Banks reported in its latest Irish Construction Purchase Management Index that residential building activity had expanded for a second consecutive month in March, the first such run since the first half of 2025.

“To see these numbers growing month-on-month alongside positive data across other key indicators in the sector, such as the AIB Construction PMI survey, it really shows that momentum is building in a way that puts us on the right track to meet the goals set out under our Housing Action Plan, Delivering Homes, Building Communities,” Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage Minister James Browne said in a statement.

“I have made it very clear that, as Minister, I intend to use every lever available, to minimise red tape and maximise delivery. This will require increased public delivery of social and affordable housing, but also a serious increase in private sector home building,” Browne added.

In March, 1,635 units, more than half of the commencements, were scheme dwellings, while apartments accounted for 932 units and one-off homes made up 372.

Dublin continued to dominate activity across the first quarter, with Dublin’s share of commencements nationally standing at 35%, with Fingal again topping the list at 1,048 units, ahead of Dublin City's 721 and South Dublin's 682.

In November, the Irish government unveiled proposals to tackle the country’s acute housing shortage, setting out plans to deliver 300,000 new homes over the next five years as it scrapped the annual housebuilding target and instead set a single figure.

At the announcement, Browne described the target of 300,000 homes, including 72,000 social units, to be completed by 2030 as ambitious yet achievable.