Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 5 March 2026
227. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the details of any analysis undertaken by his Department on the ‘viability’ of housing developments; and whether this includes raising rents in new tenancies. [17819/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe presence of a widespread and sizable viability challenge for apartment building has been a consistent message of sectoral analysis and commentary from reputable, authoritative sources. Increasing construction costs and the increasing cost of development finance have been two major factors linked to an exacerbating viability challenge in recent years, alongside the availability of land and its timely servicing.
For example, one of the more recent publications from my own Department is our Insight into Total Development Costs Report which was published in December 2025. https://www.gov.ie/en/department-of-housing-local-government-and-heritage/publications/insights-into-total-development-costs-2025/
My Department’s analysis and consideration of all the available information confirms that viability challenges are real, particularly for apartments. While it is clear that there is no single solution in addressing the viability challenge, it is a case of addressing different facets of the challenge with the aim of cumulatively improving viability.
That is why our response to the viability challenge in Delivering Homes, Building Communities is multifaceted. It involves measures to decrease the delivery costs, such as the VAT reduction on the sale of new apartments and introducing greater flexibility to the size and mix of apartment developments through the ongoing development of new design standards for apartments. It involves the new rent framework which will help boost investment in the supply of homes for rent and provide greater certainty to the wider residential market.
It also involves taking action now to create a more sustainable environment for viability through increasing the supply of zoned serviced land, increasing infrastructural capacity to support the development of more housing, the reform of the planning system underway through the implementation of the Planning and Development Act, and so forth.
Our focus now is on the progression and implementation of these measures. We will be closely monitoring housing investment, planning and commencement activity to assess the impact of Delivering Homes, Building Communities on improving viability and increasing supply in order to inform ongoing policy considerations.
