Wexford Minister James Browne Celebrates Housing Spike & Promises Faster Builds

Minister for Housing James Browne has welcomed an increase in new home completions for the first quarter of 2025, with 5,938 new dwellings completed, a 2% rise compared to the same period in 2024.

He said the increase is positive, especially for the families who will benefit, but emphasised the need for faster and broader housing delivery. To address delays, he announced plans to:

  • Set up a dedicated Housing Activation Office to tackle problem areas and unlock development sites.

  • Replace An Bord Pleanála with An Coimisiún Pleanála, a restructured planning body with statutory deadlines to speed up decisions.

Key figures from the CSO data:

  • 50.9% of new homes were part of housing schemes, 30% were apartments, and 19.1% were single homes.

  • Apartment completions rose by 13.4% year-on-year.

  • Six of Ireland’s eight regions saw an increase in completions, including a 5.8% rise in the West.

  • There was also a 2.3% quarterly increase from Q4 2024 to Q1 2025.

Minister Browne stressed the importance of scaling up delivery to meet Ireland’s housing needs faster.

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