The Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín TD has said that the government’s housing plan is “devoid of ambition” and says lack of serviced and zoned land is a huge issue.
Addressing the Tánaiste during Leaders Questions in the Dáil today, Deputy Tóibín said:
“This is a record-breaking government for all the wrong reasons. Record rents, record house prices and a record number of people who are homeless. The average residential property sold in 2025 cost €426,000, eight times average earnings. The average rent for a two-bedroom apartment is over €2,000 a month. The availability of homes for rent across the country has halved compared to pre-covid levels. 16,600 people are languishing in homeless, 5,200 of those are children. 402 homeless people died in Dublin over five years. The state doesn’t record the numbers who die outside Dublin.
“The truth is Housing delivery is in reverse. Only 30,000 homes were built last year. This was a decrease on the year before and well short of the target. Planning permissions are falling. Planning permissions for apartments are collapsing. Last year you told us that you would build 12,930 social houses. You didn’t. You missed your target by more than 2,300 homes. The key problems are not being tackled. Government bureaucracy and red tape, a lack of viability, a lack of key infrastructure and a lack of serviced zoned land. In the middle of a housing crisis many builders are idle. Construction companies are redirecting their staff abroad because there is not enough work to keep them busy in Ireland. 30 out of the top 50 construction companies are operating abroad because they can’t get work here. There is no clear pipeline of work for construction companies to tender for”
“Your planning system is one of the slowest in the EU. I have heard of a 30,000-page planning permission document needing vans to transport it. Another plan needed 4 separate versions for the same plan to suit different agencies. The Greater Dublin Drainage Project, a project designed to service 100,000 houses, has been in planning for over 10 years and could be caught in Judicial Reviews for years more. In Ireland there are 26 judicial reviews per 1 million people. In Britain its 5 per 1 million. The Judicial Reviews are becoming a national sport. Your issuing of permits and licencing is one of the slowest in the EU. Your tendering process is one of the slowest and most cumbersome in the EU. This has not evolved out of thin air. This is a system created by your government.
The lack of infrastructure is hammering the building of homes. I asked Uisce Eireann when all the gaps in the water infrastructure system will be filled that are blocking the building of homes. They said 2050. That’s INCREDIBLE! Uisce Éireann can’t keep the water in the taps of the houses that have been built in county Meath and yet the government seeks to build thousands of more houses in the country without significant upgrades. The lack of electricity, water and roads is your responsibility. This new plan is a tweakers charter. A tweak here and a tweak there. Devoid of ambition. Where is the radical change that is need Minister?”
