Housing supply in Limerick city critically short
An economic insights report by Limerick Chamber has found that new housing supply is critically short to meet demand, and that rents in Limerick city have soared by almost 77% over the past five years.
Only 5.4% of affordable homes delivered in cities across the country were in Limerick, ranking fourth behind Dublin, Cork and Waterford.
The crisis in housing demand and supply is outlined in the Mid-West Economic Insights Report 2025, published by Limerick Chamber.
It examines the economic health of the midwest region looking at indicators such as employment, housing, transport, education and logistics, providing crucial information for business leaders, investors and academics around decision making and policy.
While 1,000 homes were completed in Limerick last year, analysis by the Housing Commission suggests it could need between 2,000 and 4,500 homes to meet demand.
In addition, the report warns of the impact of "massive" State interference in the private housing market across the midwest, with approved housing bodies and other state entities purchasing homes.
Thus, removing the potential for owner-occupiers to own their own homes.
In 2023, non-household entities were responsible for almost 60% of housing purchases across Limerick, compared to 42% nationally.
When it comes to affordable homes built in cities across the country, just over 5% were delivered in Limerick.
Dublin gets the bulk of affordable homes built at 61.5%, Cork at 25.5% and 5.5% in Waterford, just ahead of Limerick.
This, along with a number of other "concerning" factors, work to cut out low and middle income workers from buying their own homes - such as the continued dependence of the State on the private sector to provide homes, the decrease in the direct building of social homes, and providers engaging with private landlords and builders to provide housing.
This has a wider impact on the competitiveness of the region and the ability of employers to attract and retain employees, with businesses losing staff or potential recruits due to the housing shortages.
In addition, there is the upward pressure on wage demands and higher salaries to combat the increased cost of living, longer commutes with poor public transport links.
Ultimately the report warns, that this is a perfect storm for Ireland to become less competitive in attracting international investment and encouraging indigenous growth.
On the education front, the midwest is a popular location for college, with 30,155 students enrolled at the University of Limerick, the Technological University of the Shannon, Mary Immaculate college and others.
Enrolment is down slightly by 0.1% compared to last year, but boosted by a large rise of over 18% in the numbers of international students enrolling in the region year-on-year since 2021/2022.
Most welcome the authors said, are the numbers of apprenticeships delivered, which has reached 2,500 for the first time, delivered by the Education and Training boards of Limerick, Clare and Tipperary.
Employment has also hit 279,000 - a regional record and employment rates are at 3.4%.
However, there is a warning that the midwest is heavily reliant on the manufacturing sector for generating its Gross Value Added (GVA) to the Irish economy.
Almost half of its GVA of €31.4 billion in the region is from the manufacturing sector, which leaves it more prone to shocks. However, the manufacturing sector is highly diverse.
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