The number of homes built in Dublin over the past year has increased by 41%. 

The figures, which were recorded between June 2021 and June this year, reveal that 8,626 dwellings were built in the capital. 

By comparison, in 2019, the last full year without a lockdown, the figure was 6,926.

In addition, 10,191 Commencement Notices for the city were received by the state between July 2021 and July 2022. 

In a statement to the press, Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien hailed the figures as a vindication of the Government’s Housing for All initiative: 

“When we launched Housing for All our aim was that everyone should have access to a home to purchase or rent at an affordable price, built to a high standard and in the right place,” he said. 

“We backed that with a guaranteed over €4 billion a year in housing investment and a series of actions to deliver 300,000 new homes by 2030, including 90,000 social homes and 54,000 affordable homes. 

“While there’s a lot of work still to do, we can see already, after the first 12 months that the plan is working in Dublin and across the country.”

A general view of construction work on an affordable housing scheme in Dublin. Picture by: PA Images / Alamy Stock Photo

Housing for All

The Housing for All strategy was launched last year and the Government frankly admitted that “Right now, Ireland’s housing system is not meeting the needs of enough of our people.” 

The aspiration behind the plan is for “every citizen in the State [to] have access to good quality homes to purchase or rent at an affordable price”. 

The Department of Housing estimates that an average of 33,000 new homes a year are needed nationwide and the state has pledged to invest €20 billion in achieving this by the year 2025.

Main image: Builders. Picture by: Cum Okolo / Alamy Stock Photo