Ireland announces multibillion-euro plan to fix housing crisis

A multi-billion euro housing strategy is set to be launched by the government on Thursday and will include a detailed breakdown of ‘guaranteed spending plans for the next five years.

The plan, which includes a guarantee of 20 billion euros ($24 billion) of state funding over the first five years, is aimed at increasing homebuilding to an average of 33,000 units per year by 2030 from around 20,000 last year.

It also includes 90,000 social homes, 36,000 affordable homes, and 18,000 cost rental homes. The long-awaited plan of action will lay out a €4bn annual investment in housing across the country.

There will be changes made to preservation orders on old houses in the hopes that it will encourage buyers to opt to restore them while a tax will be placed on vacant properties and sites around Ireland.

One year on from its introduction, the Taoiseach, Micheál Martin TD, has said that while the Government recognises that there are still significant challenges to be overcome, the Housing for All plan is delivering for the Irish people through increased housing supply; a range of affordable purchase and rental measures; new initiatives to tackle homelessness; and ongoing, long-term reforms of the housing and planning systems.

Commenting on a year of delivering Housing for All, the Taoiseach said, “Increasing housing supply and delivering sustainable, affordable homes for people is the Government’s top priority.

“A year ago, we produced an ambitious multi-annual, a multi-billion plan that is now delivering.

“It’s a plan with real ambition, guaranteed investment, and fresh ideas to deliver housing for real people and create a long-term sustainable housing system. Guaranteed State investment of over €4 billion a year in housing is aimed at increasing supply, which in turn will help increase access to affordable housing to buy or rent.”

“Housing supply is increasing, despite unprecedented challenges. Having a stable plan that can respond to these challenges is more important than ever and I look forward to working with colleagues across Government to produce an updated Action Plan in the autumn.”

Since the middle of 2021, over 54,000 new homes have been either built (24,916) or commenced (29,343). Last year, 9,183 social homes were provided.

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