Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 18 November 2025
687. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether local authorities are meeting their obligations under Housing Need and Demand Assessments; the number of authorities in full compliance; and how these assessments informed the new housing targets. [63965/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Housing Need and Demand Assessment (HNDA) provides Local Authorities with evidence-based insights into housing needs across all tenures analysing demographic trends, affordability data and housing stock pressures. This framework allows local authorities to make informed decisions about future housing requirements, and provides evidence to inform revised housing strategies and plans.
The HNDA is intended to be the central evidence base used to inform Housing Strategy preparation, which will in turn inform the housing policies of the county or city development plan. It was used as one of the components to identify the emerging demand for housing, and informed the targeted delivery of 300,00 new homes by 2030.
Circular Letter Housing 14/2021 was issued in April 2021, regarding use of the HNDA by local authorities. The majority of Local Authorities subsequently used the HNDA framework or tool as part of their housing strategies - the degree of incorporation related to the timeframes of their housing strategy cycles.
The HNDA is currently undergoing a review and is at an advanced stage. As well as updating the tool to make it more useable, the review expects to update the data underpinning the HNDA tool using housing demand data provided by the ESRI as part of their paper, "Population projections, the flow of new households and structural housing demand" published in 2024. Additional changes to the tool are expected to include revised CSO and RTB data on incomes and prices, as well as revised assumptions within the tool.
The revised tool and guidance are expected to be published by the end of the year in tandem with an outreach to each local authority to provide guidance and workshops. It is expected that each local authority will use this revised version in their revised housing strategies and plans.
