Michael Kelleher is the outgoing chairperson of the Irish Home Builders Association (IHBA). He offers insight into the impact of planning and infrastructure policies when it comes to putting roofs over heads
It is very evident that 2025 is a pivotal year for our industry and a defining period if we are to get to grips with housing delivery.
We now have a new government in place for the next five years who must build on the positives that have been achieved
over the last number of years however now they must be courageous and progressive this time if we are to deliver at the scale now needed.
It is vital that our new Housing Minister James Browne directs local authorities to zone more land that is capable of being serviced immediately as currently there is not enough land available to deliver viable schemes to increase housing supply.
The fact that last year our housing completions were down 6.7 per cent on 2023 is telling and we need to make the necessary policy changes to arrest and remove the blockages so our members can get back to delivering more homes for more people.
We will not succeed in this if we don’t accept that brownfield apartment developments are not viable in most locations and require more subsidies by government as well as changing some of the initiatives such as STAR, Cost Rental and Croí Cónaithe so these schemes appeal to international capital and the pillar banks so we can inject much needed funding into housing delivery.
I believe our local authorities need to be more realistic in relation to densities, especially at this time.
The bringing forward of the compact growth guidelines is a hugely progressive step and one welcomed by all our industry however insisting on densities that can only be delivered by having apartments as part of the scheme, which are not viable in most locations must be discontinued as this is only delivering a theoretical exercise in housing numbers but will not actually deliver more homes given the lack of viability of apartment developments throughout most of the country.
If we are to solve the acute housing shortage, then we have to be honest and accept the constraints and work together to deliver more viable permissions and expedite infrastructure delivery which is also a key deterrent to delivering housing at scale.
If we are to make inroads into housing delivery over the next number of years, then we must use all the levers we have available to us to make it happen.
The reality is we can build a house and hand the keys to the new home purchaser in 22 weeks however it can take anything up to four years to deliver successful planning and commence building on site. Therefore, it is critical that when the new planning bill is finally enacted that it streamlines and speeds up the process and that every stakeholder involved has delivery of housing as the key goal.
The delivery of infrastructure must also be expedited as currently the timelines are too long. We need to look at Public Private Partnerships structures to deliver on the larger infrastructural projects as the capital that must be invested in our infrastructure over the coming years is significant.
We also need more collaboration between local authorities and infrastructural providers so that the services are delivered in a more timely manner. The Local Authority Part 8 process should be used to speed up the timelines for delivery of all infrastructure if we are to have enough serviced lands to deliver the 50,000 homes required annually.
We are living in a digital age, and the benefits of technology are ensuring we can deliver homes more cost effectively and more efficiently which is reducing the cost of producing new homes.
However, if we are to ensure there is continued investment in new technologies, we must have a secure pipeline so that the industry has the confidence to deliver the capacity required across all facets of house building to meet the new targets set in the National Planning Framework review.
I want to congratulate Michael Prenty, our incoming chair of the IHBA. Michael has extensive knowledge and experience of our industry and what is needed to increase housing supply and will continue to work with all key stakeholders to ensure the delivery of the 50,000 homes required annually for the next number of years.
Finally I would also like to thank all the IHBA team who work tirelessly and deliver a great service to our members as well as ensuring the IHBA is constantly engaging with all the prescribed bodies and the relevant departments and ministers to collectively work towards delivering the much-needed homes and infrastructure we need to ensure our economy remains successful and Ireland continues to be a place where businesses want to locate and we can continue to attract people to work and live in our country.
Michael Kelleher is Group Operations Director at O’Flynn Group and was a keynote speaker at the annual IHBA Summit, which took place in Croke Park, Dublin on April 8
