Construction Firms Highlight Infrastructure, Planning, Policy Barriers to Housing Supply at Oireachtas

Irish construction companies and property developers, including the Irish Home Builders Association (IHBA), Cairn Homes, Castlethorn, Glenveagh Homes, and the Housing Alliance, are addressing the Oireachtas housing committee today. They will highlight significant barriers to increasing housing supply, such as inadequate infrastructure, slow planning processes, and restrictive policy.

IHBA housing director Conor O’Connell noted 36,284 residential units were completed in 2023, with just under 8,000 in Q1 this year. He emphasized that Ireland’s housing challenge stems from an «ecosystem of barriers» across planning, cost, infrastructure, and policy, not a single point of failure. The IHBA's primary concern is the future supply of zoned land and the capacity of state agencies to deliver essential infrastructure like transport, electricity, and water. O’Connell urged the National Transport Authority, Transport Infrastructure Ireland, Uisce Éireann, ESB Networks, and Eirgrid to accelerate infrastructure delivery.

Cairn Homes CEO Michael Stanley stated that despite progress, Ireland’s structural housing deficit persists. He identified delays in enabling infrastructure as a major impediment, stressing the need for targeted investments in energy, water, and public transport to meet national housing targets. Stanley believes the crisis requires scaled apartment delivery in urban areas, often linked to multimodal public transport as a planning condition.

Castlethorn chairperson David Kennedy forecasts 1,350 housing units in Dublin this year, rising to 1,650 in 2027 and over 2,100 in 2028. This hinges on efficient local authority planning, timely public sector infrastructure, and continued government support for affordable housing. Kennedy warned that failures in these areas could reverse positive trends. He also called for planning reform and increased resources at the local authority level, noting that securing a site to commencing construction can take over 36 months due to sequential processes and resource challenges. He advocated for multi-annual budgets for apartment delivery.

Housing Alliance policy lead Brian O’Gorman highlighted Ireland’s social housing stock, which is under 11% of total housing, significantly below the European average of over 15%. He attributed this to decades of under-investment and stressed the importance of utilizing all supply channels, including approved housing bodies (AHBs). O’Gorman also suggested streamlining the approvals process for mixed-use developments, where social rental, cost rental, special needs housing, and communal facilities on a single site are currently assessed as separate components, to accelerate delivery without additional state cost.