Ireland needs to build up to 400,000 homes over the coming decade if it is to tackle its housing crisis, the chief executive of Glenveagh Properties said this week.

Posting annual pre-tax profits of €45.7M for the year ending 31 December 2021, Glenveagh CEO Stephen Garvey said that Ireland needed the homes "across every front" including affordable housing, private rental sector and market sale.

Previous studies have said that Ireland needed between 30,000 and 35,000 new homes per year over the coming decade to meet its housing needs.

The comments come as the developer turned a €15.7M loss into 2020 into a profit, completing 1,150 homes over the course of 2021 and doubling revenue to €476M.

Garvey said that the developer aims to hit a target of up to 3,000 homes per year. “Our results outline the performance of the business last year and the resilience of our business model," he said. "The continued strong demand for our high-quality, sustainable homes resulted in an excellent performance in 2021 growing output by 36% versus pre- pandemic levels.

“We dealt effectively with the challenges of the pandemic and remain well-placed to deliver on our ambition of scaling the business to 3,000 units per annum."

Glenveagh reported a core gross margin of 19.6% and noted that it had a forward order book of 1,921 homes, which contributed to a forward order value of €675M.