Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 19 May 2026
177. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the measures he is taking to mitigate against the impact of the Iran war on the supply and price of housing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37567/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, I am acutely aware of the challenges presented to the housing sector by on-going events in the Middle East, particularly in terms of the ongoing impact on the price of construction materials.
In recent years my Department has introduced measures to reduce the level of inflation risk that contractors are expected to bear on public works projects. For example, as a result of post-pandemic inflation, supply chain disruptions and the subsequent Russian invasion of Ukraine the Inflation/Supply Chain Delay Co-operation Framework was introduced in May 2022 to manage the impact of exceptional inflation and supply chain disruptions on public works projects.
My Department continues to monitor the potential impacts of this situation on housing supply through tracking all the available indicators and engaging closely with the sector.
More broadly, Delivering Homes, Building Communities aims to significantly accelerate the delivery of new homes by focusing on activating land and creating the optimal environment to encourage housing activity. Much of the actions in this area are designed to ultimately reduce the all-in delivery cost of a home.
This includes significant regulatory reform in both the planning and rental market areas, optimised design standardisation, a suite of taxation measures in Budget 2026 aimed at stimulating the supply of new apartments including a reduced VAT rate on the sale of new apartments as well as a new enabling approach to infrastructure via the Housing Activation Office coupled with the largest ever capital investment in the history of the State, with €275 billion invested in infrastructure over ten years through the National Development Plan.
This level of funding, reform and focus underpins a sustained collaborative effort across the multiple stakeholders, and we remain responsive to creating the conditions to support the required increase in public and private sector delivery.
While it is important to acknowledge the very significant challenges ahead, equally it is important to highlight that a continued level of intensity of effort will be brought to bear to reach the scale required to meet our shared goal of 300,000 new homes by 2030.
