Fingal falls behind on social housing

Fingal County Council has delivered just 67% of its social housing target over the past three years, placing it firmly in the bottom third of local authorities for new-build delivery from 2022 to 2024.

The figures, released by the government, come at a time when the cost of building in Dublin is among the highest in Europe, and still climbing.

According to the new Global Construction Market Intelligence 2025 report by consultancy Turner & Townsend, it now costs an average of €3,692 per square metre to build in the capital.

Dublin is ranked the fourth most expensive city in Europe to build in, trailing only Zurich, Geneva and London.

The findings help explain why local authorities like Fingal are struggling to keep up with their housing commitments.

The report points to a steady stream of commercial and data centre developments in the Greater Dublin Area—particularly in Fingal—as a key driver of ongoing demand, with private-sector projects competing directly with public housing for scarce labour and resources.

But the challenges go deeper than market pressures alone.

Turner & Townsend found that every single European construction market surveyed is facing a shortage of skilled MEP (mechanical, electrical and plumbing) workers, while lead-in times for critical building components are now stretching beyond 40 weeks in many regions.

Ireland’s slow adoption of digital construction tools is also a growing concern.

Fewer than half of Irish construction clients are investing in digital transformation or Building Information Modelling (BIM), placing us well behind countries like Switzerland and Denmark, where such technologies are increasingly standard.

Bureaucracy is adding to the squeeze.

More than 60% of European construction professionals identified planning delays and red tape as a serious constraint on their ability to deliver projects on time and on budget.

It’s a problem all too familiar in Irish housing circles.

While construction cost inflation is expected to ease slightly, from 2.9% this year to 2.4% in 2025, overall prices remain high, especially in rapidly growing regions like Dublin.

“Our GCMI 2025 report shows that while Europe’s construction market is stabilising, the pressures on cost, skills, and digital capability remain acute,” said Philip Matthews, Managing Director at Turner & Townsend Ireland.

“For markets like Dublin and surrounding areas, which are seeing sustained demand in both public and private sectors, strategic supply chain management and accelerated investment in digital construction will be critical to maintaining delivery capacity.”

With the government continuing to pile pressure on councils to meet housing targets, Turner & Townsend’s findings serve as a sharp reminder: without serious reform, even well-funded housing plans could stall under the weight of labour shortages, red tape and outdated practices.