Social housing delivery must be turbo charged to come near annual target – Sheehan
Social housing delivery must be turbo charged to come near annual target - Sheehan - The Labour Party
Labour’s housing spokesperson Conor Sheehan TD has called out the slow progress on social housing delivery following the publication of the Q1 social housing figures.
Deputy Sheehan said:
“The targets for social and affordable housing were never met under Housing for All, and it’s clear that Minister Browne’s plan is on course to meet the same failure.
“While the performance is substantially better when compared with Q1 of 2025, we are no where near where we need to be in terms of delivery of social housing in Ireland. In its most recent housing plan, Government have essentially abandoned annual housing targets, opting for an overall five-year figure of 12,000 social houses per year of the plan.
“We knew that when Government sought to remove the very tools needed to measure progress, they were ultimately seeking to remove accountability.
“Based on today’s published figures progress remains too slow. On the current trajectory, the best we can expect in terms of social housing delivery for 2026 is an additional 3328 homes coming on stream, falling well short of the 12,000 homes set out in the Action Plan.
“The proposed 12,000 units, which we are no where near on course to meeting, falls far short of what is needed. Labour has consistently called for at least 15,000 new social homes each year, in line with the Housing Commission’s analysis. Yet this Government has chosen to ignore that evidence.
“With every passing year the housing deficit continues to grow. The failure to invest in and build adequate social housing is a cause of rising homelessness and the failure to set proper ambitious delivery targets is not good enough.”