Tánaiste: State needs to build 60,000 homes a year
Mahon Refugees Acmodate Under Homes Picture: Modular Eddie Year Ukrainian Last In To O'hare Construction
The State needs to build about 60,000 homes a year — 20,000 more than it will build this year — before it can “put a dent” in the housing crisis, the Tánaiste has said.
Micheál Martin's comments came on Tuesday as the Housing Finance Agency reported a strong pipeline of new social and affordable homes, with financing approvals up 200% in the first half of 2024, with €861.5m approved for housing bodies with plans to deliver 3,194 new homes.
The half-year figures include €132.5m in loan approvals to support the delivery of 653 cost-rental homes.
The Housing Finance Agency loan advances to the end of June 2024 are also up almost 50% on the same period in 2023, with €455m drawn down by approved housing bodies to support the delivery of 1,328 new homes.
The figures were released as the Housing Finance Agency published its 2023 annual report.
It comes as Cork City Council unveiled plans for one of the first modular social housing projects in the country.
The proposed Estuary Way development on council-owned land on St Michael’s Drive in Mahon will feature 38 single-storey modular homes, each just over 53sq m in size.
The rectangular site, which extends to just over one hectare, between Ballinure Cottages, St Michael's Close, and the National Software Centre, is close to where 64 modular homes were delivered last year for people fleeing the war in Ukraine, prompting calls for a similar approach to Ireland’s housing crisis.
The Tánaiste said modular homes account for very few of the accommodation options provided to the estimated 40,000 Ukrainian refugees in State-led accommodation.
“We have built and delivered over 10,000 social homes for our population over the last year,” he told Neil Prendeville on Cork’s RedFM.
“We have gone from 20,000 houses being built a year at the start of this Government to close to 40,000 at the end of this year.
“But we need to get to 60,000 a year in my view before we can put a dent into the housing issue. And it is the number one issue for me.”
"We are spending unprecedented money on social housing — about €4.5bn a year on housing.
“The State now is the biggest actor in the housing market, whether through joint ventures with private sector companies or through direct State-building itself, through the local authorities."
Meanwhile, the proposed new modular homes scheme in Mahon will include 34 two-bedroom units, two two-bedroom accessible units, and two communal or office space units — all of which can be reconfigured internally to suit various designs.
Pending a report to councillors in November and the outcome of a tendering process, construction could start on site before the end of this year, with the homes ready for occupation by the middle of next year.