A total of 30,330 homes were built in 2024, a decrease of 6.7% on 2023, according to figures from the Central Statistics Office.
The latest figures from the CSO show the number of apartments completed in 2024 was 8,763 – a drop of 24% on the previous year.
The number of single dwellings built was 5,367, which was 2.2% lower than in 2023.
There were 16,200 homes which were built in housing schemes, which was a rise of 4.6%.
The figures are in contrast to statements by some Government politicians who had predicted there would be an increase.
The drop in housing output is also in contrast to forecasts by economists who projected housing completions would be similar to 2023 when almost 33,000 were built.
The CSO said: “In 2024, 53.4% of completions were scheme dwellings, 28.9% were apartments, and 17.7% were single dwellings.
“More than half (54.3%) of completions for the full year of 2024 were in Dublin or the mid-east (Kildare, Louth, Meath, and Wicklow).”
In October, November, and December 2024 there were 8,732 completions, a fall of 14.5% from the fourth quarter of 2023.
Last July, outgoing Taoiseach Simon Harris said: “This year, we will exceed our housing targets with almost 40,000 homes built. This includes the biggest social housing build since 1975.”
Last October Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien told the Dáil: “The target this year under Housing for All is 33,450. I have consistently said we will exceed that target. I still confidently predict – the Deputy and his colleagues in Sinn Féin will be disappointed – that it will be the high 30,000s to low 40,000s this year.”
The figure of 30,330 homes built last year also means the Government has missed its target of building 33,000 homes as set out under the Housing for All plan.
Sinn Féin’s housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin said that the Government’s housing targets for last year were too low.
“Throughout 2024, the Taoiseach, Tánaiste and Minister for Housing said that 40,000 new homes would be built. They repeated this claim despite the CSO quarterly figures showing new home completions plummeting.
“The Government has not only missed their social and affordable housing targets but also their overall target.
“The reason for the sluggish output is that the Government has refused to make the necessary reforms to public and private housing delivery. If this continues in the new government, as is likely, then the housing crisis will continue to deepen,” he said.
Article Source – Number of homes built decreased 6.7% last year – CSO – RTE
