Darragh O'Brien accused of 'u-turn' as doubt cast on new housing targets

Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien has cast doubt upon new housing targets being announced before the election.

Taoiseach Simon Harris has repeatedly stated that he wanted new targets set before the country goes to the polls. Housing for All was launched in 2021 and vowed to build an average of 33,000 homes annually.

The Government has stated it will set new targets before the end of October, with the Taoiseach suggesting as recently as last weekend he believed there should be a goal of 60,000 homes per annum.

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Speaking in Dublin on Wednesday, Minister O’Brien put the average number of new homes at 50,000. He also said he could not put a “timeframe” on when the new targets will be ready.

“In relation to the housing targets, work is still ongoing,” Minister O’Brien told reporters. “We’d a good meeting this week. What we need to do is not just set the targets, but show how we can get there.

“The national planning framework has a big say in that in relation to how much land we need to zone, our population projections, where we need to build those homes. The two are actually related. The work is not concluded on that yet. Obviously, I've met with the party leaders on that too.

“I've said publicly, we are looking in the range of 50,000 [homes a year] plus. I don't think that could come as any surprise to people. But it's important as well that people know how we're going to get there. People can just pull figures out of the sky, and some of the opposition as well, as they will deliver 60,000, will deliver 70,000."

Earlier this year, the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) published a report which shows that the state needs to build around 44,000 new homes a year, but the figure did not include estimates for unmet demand. The Housing Commission later said there is a need for between 15,000 and 25,000 new homes a year to meet unmet demand.

Mr O’Brien said it was “not an easy one to land”.

Sinn Féin’s housing spokesman Eoin Ó Broin accused Minister O’Brien of a “u-turn”. He said: “What is the Minister hiding? What does he not want the voters to see? Is it that he knows he can’t significantly increase the targets for social and affordable homes and now wants to conceal that fact from the electorate?

“Minister O’Brien must publish his promised revised housing targets this month. He must set out what Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael would deliver over the next five years, in terms of social, affordable and private homes."

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