Ireland’s home building falls to lowest non-covid May level since 2015
Last month, housing commencements - the number of new residential projects that have officially begun construction - were less than half the number of May last year. File picture: iStock
Home building has hit another dismal low-point, with new data confirming that last month's housing commencement figures were worst seen in May for 10 years.
Last month, housing commencements - the number of new residential projects that have officially begun construction - were less than half the number of May last year.
With the exception of May 2020, when covid-19 shut the construction sector, the May 2025 figure is the worst since 2015, with just 1,024 homes getting underway.
Department of Housing statistics show that, in the first five months of the year, just under 5,000 homes have been officially commenced in Ireland, set against an initial government target to deliver 41,000 homes.
Minister for housing James Browne has said this target is now “not realistic” and that “we’re coming off a much lower base from last year than was expected”.
The latest figures come as thousands of people are set to participate in a Raise the Roof protest at the National Monument in Cork City on Saturday, with trade unions and opposition parties urging the public to turn out to highlight the impact of the housing crisis on society.
A commencement is a formal notice a developer must lodge to notify that that construction or a significant alteration to a building is beginning. There is no penalty if the work is never undertaken.
Although it had been seen as an indication of how many homes would be built in the short-to-medium term, doubts have been cast on the reliability of these statistics, given a flood of notices were lodged at times last year prior to the expiry of Government incentives.
Nevertheless, the fall in commencements to levels not seen since before the pandemic is viewed as a negative indicator of housing supply.
The Central Bank has forecast that just 32,500 new homes will be built this year.
Separately, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) said on Friday that the volume of building in the residential sector fell 10.6% in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the same time last year.
Sinn Féin’s housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin said the drop in housing commencements “isn’t surprising news”.
“It’s why the Central Bank have revised their estimates and appears the Government will miss their targets not just this year but in 2026 and 2027 as well," he said.
“There’s still an ongoing delay in the approval of vital social and affordable housing projects, and I suspect this accounts for a significant proportion of the shortfall in commencements. There is far too much bureaucracy and red tape.”
Minister Browne has said he is committed to enacting a “step change” in the housing department and will clear “the dead wood out of the way so that homes can get delivered”.
A spokesperson for the Department of Housing said the dip in commencement notices in the early months of 2025 "is not unexpected given the extraordinary number lodged in the last two years in response to Government measures to accelerate supply, principally through the Development Levy Waiver and Water Connection Rebate – notices were lodged for almost 102,000 new homes in 2023 and 2024 combined".
The lower number of notices lodged over the first five months of 2025 likely reflects a shift in focus in the construction sector to progressing the homes already in the pipeline, they added.
"Feedback from the sector suggests significantly increased activity on sites around the country – the Department of Housing is working with local authorities to gauge the level of activity currently underway in respect of the notices received in 2023 and 2024. Our initial analysis suggests almost 90% of the associated sites have been activated so far, auguring well for the completion of many of these units in 2025 and 2026."
