Micheál Martin says Government's housing target remains at 300,000 despite Central Bank downgrading forecast

Irish Independent

19-06-2025

It comes as Housing Minister James Brown said the target to build 41,000 homes this year is "not realistic".
Mr Browne has admitted previously that meeting the 2025 target would be "extremely challenging" and all predictions are trending around 34,000.
Speaking on Newstalk on Thursday, he said he is committed to enacting a "step change" in the housing department and will clear "the dead wood out of the way so that homes can get delivered".
"I think the challenge we have this year is we're coming off a much lower base from last year than was expected," he said of the housing targets.
"We had hoped for much higher figures last year.
"I think, looking at all of the different predictions, which are fairly consistent, I think 41,000 is not realistic for this year.
"We will wait to see how the year works out. I don't particularly like getting into predictions.
"My position as minister is to maximise supply, maximise the delivery of new homes and, irrespective of what the housing numbers will be this year, I'm making a step change so we can get that housing supply up, because we need to get from 30,000 onto 50,000, on to 60,000 houses.
"40,000 houses is nowhere near enough."
The Central Bank has also projected the Government will miss its own housing targets by a wide margin for the next three years – and on Thursday revised its prediction down further, predicting 32,500 newbuilds by the end of 2025.
Speaking to RTÉ's News at One, Mr Martin said the Government has taken measures including the allocation of "an extra €700 million to housing" and the proposed changes to Rent Pressure Zones.
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"These decisions are difficult. We could have left it alone, but we would have affected future supply. We need more supply," he said.
Mr Martin added that there is "no silver bullet" and the RPZs, short-term lets legislation, the Housing Activation Office and the extension of Land Development Agency powers are among measures being taken.
"All these are vital in terms of the medium-term situation. If we don't do what we're doing now, then we'll have real problems in three or four years."
On whether the Government would consider bringing in tax incentives for apartment building such as Section 23, he said he is "not going to pre-empt in any way discussions on the budget".
"Part of what we were doing last week is to create a settled environment, a stable environment, for private sector investment to come in. We do need private sector investment in housing and in apartment building. That is what has declined," he said.
He said the increase in resources to authorities like the Residential Tenancies Board, An Bord Pleanála and the Planning Commission will continue as it is "penny wise, pound foolish to starve these vital bodies of resources, because the costs otherwise are in the millions".
The last Fianna Fáil-Fine Gael coalition built more than 130,000 homes between 2020 and 2024, while the current coalition has set a target of in excess of 300,000 new homes between 2025 and 2030.
The target for this year is 41,000 new builds, despite the fact the Government missed its target of 33,450 last year and also missed its newbuild social housing target by 1,429 last year.
The Government is being pressured again over the housing crisis after announcing a swathe of new rent and housing measures.
This includes the introduction of rent caps nationwide of 2pc or to inflation, whichever is lower.
This will apply to around a fifth of tenancies not already covered, but has been criticised for allowing rents to "reset" to the market rate when renters voluntarily leave a tenancy.
New six-year minimum tenancies on offer from March next year have been criticised for allowing landlords to "reset" rents every six years.
The Fianna Fáil-Fine Gael Government, supported by several independents, has insisted boosting supply is the best way to encourage affordability while opposition parties argue more state-owned homes and regulation is needed.
Meanwhile, speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland this morning as well, the minister said he expects that rent pressure zones could be extended to the entirety of the country by tomorrow night.
He said: 'I have had to make choices, I have brought in a permanent rent control for the country.
"It will begin on 1 March 2026 but we are taking emergency measures in the meantime. It will bring in important protections for rents. The important thing is for existing tenancies, about 200,000 people, nothing will change if you stay in your current tenancy. The current rule - that rent can only go up by inflation or only 2pc, whichever the lower - will remain.
His comments come as he announced earlier in the week that it would be 'unworkable and unenforceable' to ask landlords to reduce rents for students.
'The second thing is what we expect from tomorrow night or certainly by the end of the week that we will have rent pressure zones extended to the entirety of the country.
'A further protection measure we are bringing in for renters is what's known as security of tenure. That will mean people will have certainty as to their rental position. However, to be able to bring that in under the advice of the constitution, because landlords have strong property rights, they need to be able to have some measure where they can reset their rent.
The minister has previously discussed six-year minimum tenancies from March next year, which has been criticised by the opposition for allowing landlords to reset rents every six years or when tenants leave of their own volition.
Minister Browne added: 'So the only way they would be able to reset their rent is if a tenant voluntarily leaves the property and a new tenant comes in. For example, if the landlord serves notice to quit, to sell a property, they won't be able to reset the rent, so there is no economic incentive to move them out. But if a tenant voluntarily moves out that landlord will be able to reset the rent.'
Meanwhile, Mr Martin said that while housing will remain among the priorities, the next budget will "have to be shaped in the context of the tariff issue" as well as the current situation in the Middle East, which can affect trade and shipping costs.
"We've witnessed that. We saw the impact of the Ukraine war both, but the combination of post-COVID and the Ukraine war led to an inflationary spiral for two to three years, which was very high and impacted hugely on people," he said.
"And so now we're looking at both a trade tariff issue, we're looking at the war in the Middle East, which could get worse and could lead to more instability, we will be mindful of all of that in terms of shaping this budget.
"But the priorities will be first of all, housing, the priority will be disability, and we want to tackle child poverty."