Number of houses built last year in Kildare "falls short of increasing demand" – Réada Cronin TD.

The CSO has revealed that 30,330 houses were built last year – short of the ‘close to 40,000’ outlined by the government.

Réada Cronin, Sinn Féin TD for North Kildare has said that this is “unacceptable.”

Deputy Cronin said: “Last year, we heard the Taoiseach, Tánaiste and Minister for Housing pledge that 40,000 new houses would be built. Today, the CSO has revealed the state built 30,330 houses, short of their own target for the year and down on the 32,695 that were built in 2023.

“This is unacceptable. The recently published programme for government sets out a target of 300,000 houses built by 2030. How do they expect to reach this target if they can’t even reach their modest yearly targets?

“The government parties also deliberately misled the public on their targets in housing in the lead up to the election. We repeatedly heard Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael TDs mentioning 40,000 houses as a more accurate representation of houses built in 2024. This was way off.”

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Deputy Cronin said that “clearly” a “radical approach” to housing is required if we are to seriously tackle this issue.

She said the government have thus far refused the necessary reforms to public and private housing delivery.

She said: “1,426 new houses were built in Kildare in 2024. While this may be higher than in other areas around the country, the numbers have fallen drastically since 2023, where 2,706 houses were built in Kildare. This is nearly half the amount.

“This falls short of the increasing demand in Kildare North especially, where many who are on waiting lists hoping to own a home of their own are left to wait in uncertainty for long periods of time.’’

According to Deputy Cronin there is a need to make housing genuinely affordable for people. She said she believed the only way to do is is to radically ramp up social housing that would be available for both affordable purchase and affordable rent.

She added: “This government is not serious about making housing accessible and affordable. Housing prices increased 9% again last year, according to Daft.ie. This is simply not sustainable.

‘‘I wish James Browne, the new Minister for Housing all the best in his role. He needs a radically different approach in the role to his predecessor to address the massive shortcomings of the previous government.

“Darragh O’Brien failed in his time as Minister for Housing. That he has been replaced suggests the Taoiseach thinks the same.”