Just 30% of large-scale residential developments with planning have started construction over the last four years, a new report states.
Applications were made for 63,000 units in the period 2022 to 2025 but just 18,500 (30%) have started construction. The authors of the report say the high attrition rate of large-scale residential development (LRDs) schemes undermines Ireland’s ability to scale up new housing output.
LRD schemes cover planning applications comprising 100 or more houses, apartments, or student accommodation. LRDs make up 60 to 70% of overall planning permissions and, as a result, have a critical role to play in ramping up the country’s housing supply.
The Annual Construction Sector Report 2026 of construction consultants Mitchell McDermott said planning applications for 63,000 units were submitted between 2022 and 2025 but 15,000 failed to get through the planning process. Planning for another 4,000 units were overturned by judicial review, leaving usable planning permissions at at 44,000 units. After removing schemes which had only recently received planning (11,500 units), the study found that schemes comprising 18,500 units (30%) had commenced, while the remaining 14,000 (22%) had not.
Report co-author Paul Mitchell said the fact that only 30% of applications made it to commencement is a major concern.
“The fact 53 LRD schemes comprising 14,000 units which have planning permission have stalled is very worrying. In the middle of a housing crisis, we just cannot afford to be losing up to 4,000 units a year.
“Given that these schemes have planning permission, they have to be the number one target for the Housing Activation Office who should use all available state supports to help unlock them,” said Mr Mitchell.
In the report, Mitchell McDermott examined what figures would need to be reached on an annual basis if the Government’s target of 300,000 units by 2030 is to be met. Based on a straight-line model, it said Ireland would need to deliver 39,000 units this year, and the apartment and housing numbers would then need to rise by 17% annually over the next four years while the number of one-off homes would need to increase to 7,000 in 2028.
The report said achieving these targets will be “challenging” but notes the Government introduced measures in 2025 to accelerate housing delivery including zoning more land, adjusting rent caps, reducing Vat on the sale of new apartments from 13.5% to 9%, and setting up the Accelerating Infrastructure Taskforce.
Mr Mitchell believes additional targeted supports for SMEs are required. “It’s vital we provide the necessary supports to SMEs and the larger companies who constructed over 50% of schemes. We believe the best way to do this is to extend development levy and Uisce Eireann waivers for the next two years, while also increasing the supply of serviced sites, and providing them with equity and debt support services.
“As a country, we do not have sufficient resources to do this on our own and will need the support of international investors and pension funds to drive apartment development.”
