House prices surge as Government fails Galway families – Ogbu
House prices surge as Government fails Galway families – Ogbu - The Labour Party
- Just 935 affordable homes delivered
- Galway price now €399k median
- Child homelessness at record levels
Councillor Helen Ogbu, Labour’s candidate in Galway West, has said the latest CSO figures showing house prices rising by 6.8% in the 12 months to February, alongside new Government data confirming just 935 affordable purchase homes were delivered in 2025, lay bare a deepening housing crisis that is hitting Galway families hard.
Cllr. Ogbu said:
“Every time I’m out knocking on doors across Galway West, housing comes up. It is the issue people raise again and again. Families, workers, young people – everyone feels locked out of a system that simply is not working for them.
“The latest CSO figures are stark. House prices have risen by 6.8% in the past year alone. Here in Galway, the median price of a house or apartment is now €399,000. That is completely out of reach for so many people on ordinary incomes trying to put down roots in their own communities.
“At the very same time, Government’s own figures show that just 935 affordable purchase homes were delivered in 2025. A fraction of the already inadequate target. This is not just a missed target, it is a failure of ambition and delivery at a time when people desperately need homes.
“We are seeing the consequences of that failure everywhere. Homelessness continues to rise, and tragically, more and more children are growing up without a stable home. That is a national scandal, and one that this Government cannot continue to ignore.
“This is a supply crisis, plain and simple. We are not building enough homes, and we are not delivering the kind of homes that people can actually afford. Instead, the Government continues to rely on a broken model that prioritises private profit over public need.
“The Land Development Agency was meant to be a key part of the solution, yet it delivered just 508 cost rental homes last year. That tells you everything about the scale of the problem. The current approach is not working and it will not deliver the homes Galway needs.
“Labour has been clear about what needs to happen. We need a State Construction Company to directly build social, affordable and cost rental homes at scale. We need to take control of delivery and ensure that homes are built for people, not for speculation.
“People in Galway are crying out for change. They want to be able to afford a home, to raise a family, to plan their future. Right now, that is being denied to them. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael must stop making excuses. We need urgent action to ramp up public homebuilding and ensure that affordable homes are within reach. The time for half-measures is over.”