Cummins guarantees Government will better 2024's housing figure
Minister of State for Local Government and Planning John Cummins branded the Government's newest housing plan "a major step forward". Photo: Joe Evans
Minister of State for Local Government and Planning John Cummins TD guaranteed there will be more dwellings built in Ireland in 2025 compared to 2024’s figure of 30,300.
Speaking at the unveiling of 25 new affordable homes in Ballycarnane, Tramore, Minister Cummins said: “I'm not going to make a prediction on what the final outturn for the year is at this moment in time, except to say that it will be more than what it was last year.”
CSO figures show 24,325 units have been built through the first three quarters of 2025.
Historically, Q4 sees the highest levels of completion in a year, although 2024 saw a 17.4% downturn from Q3 as the Government fell almost 10,000 shy of their housing targets.
Government’s newest housing plan aims to add 303,000 new units to the market by the end of 2030, an average of 50,500 per year.
“As we ramp up the delivery in the coming years, 2030 will be more than ‘29, ’29 more than ‘28, it is to get to that 300,000 homes over the course of the plan. And we've done it before,” said the Waterford Fine Gael TD.
“Let's be clear, we've gone from building less than 5000 homes in 2013, to over 30,000 homes last year. Now we need to get that to over 50,000 and obviously continue the trajectory going forward.”
The latest homelessness figures from the Department of Housing showed Waterford with 121 homeless adults, its second-highest tally ever since data was first recorded in 2016.
“We've ring-fenced over 100 million now to be able to exit families from emergency accommodation, that is a priority of the government,” said Minister Cummins.
“It is important to put it in context as well, that last year, in 2024 there was nearly 9000 preventions and exits from homelessness. But of course, we need to do more.”
Responding to Daft.ie’s latest report that showed rentals in Waterford City had risen by 11.4%, Minister Cummins conceded that while rents were “exceptionally high”, he hoped Cost Rental units would soon provide a viable alternative.
