Ireland needs to build 20,000 more homes a year than planned to keep up with a growing population and pent-up demand, the central bank has warned, saying that will require €6.5bn-€7bn in development finance.
Failing to fix Ireland’s housing crunch will drag on the nation’s competitiveness, the bank said.
Ireland, which is grappling with a chronic housing supply and affordability crisis, has boosted homebuilding: According to official data, 32,695 dwellings were completed last year, up 10 per cent on 2022, and the government is targeting 33,450 this year.
But the central bank says 52,000 a year are needed. Planning bottlenecks and a lack of skilled construction workers were compounding the problem.